The final ball of the fifth over during India’s chase in Hyderabad may have had little significance to the eventual outcome of the match, but for the capacity crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, what had transpired before it and what was to follow were from two different worlds.

When Sachin Tendulkar flicked Ben Hilfenhaus through mid-wicket for three runs, he became the first batsman in the history of one-day cricket to reach 17,000 runs. It was the moment that the people of Hyderabad had waited for with fingers crossed, and when it arrived, the celebration was absolutely no-holds-barred.

After all, with India chasing an improbable 351 against a fired-up Aussie outfit, it seemed like the only real hurrah up for grabs as far as the 30,000 spectators at Uppal went. Little did they know that Tendulkar had a special surprise up his sleeve to celebrate the milestone.

Australia, batting first after winning the toss on a good pitch that offered consistent bounce, showed that they were up for the challenge here. Shane Watson was the early aggressor, his 89-ball 93 setting the pace for Australia. Ricky Ponting scored a run-a-ball 45 while Michael Hussey and Cameron White came out all guns blazing. All this time, Shaun Marsh held one end up, starting slowly and opening up towards the end, as his 112 and the late charge took Australia to 350. The last time the two teams met on a pitch with even bounce was during the second one-dayer in Nagpur, and led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India went on to post a mammoth 354 for seven. Ponting & Co had returned the favour.

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