Sachin Tendulkar 70 not out at the end of day’s play isn’t merely a line on a scoreboard but a situation pregnant with possibilities. Several times in India, I’ve written Tendulkar-approaching-a-hundred stories, anticipating a busy day ahead in the middle of chaos and excitement in the stands. The momentum starts within minutes of Tendulkar walking into the pavilion unbeaten at stumps.

Requests for passes pour in from people standing outside the stadium gate, from cab drivers who take you to your hotel, and the extra courteous waiter who sticks around longer than usual after their room-service trip. It triggers ‘sudden illness’ leave applications in offices and guarantees serpentine queues at the ground the next day.

On Friday, Hamilton did have a ‘Tendulkar 70 not out’ situation but the buzz that I’m programmed to expect was missing. There was no lathi charge, no sorry faces of ticket-less fans who grudgingly look at your media pass, and I didn’t expect to hear that unique request once made to me by a group of boys outside Green Park in Kanpur, “Bhaiya andar ghusva do na (please get us in).”

But even at Seddon Park, below the surface of calmness, there was a distinct drone reminiscent of the familiar noise one hears on such days back home. There may have been a population disparity, but the per capita anticipation was roughly at par. There were couples walking in with folding chairs, with a slot on the hand-rest for a beer can, families with fully stacked ice boxes, young girls with giant umbrellas under their arms, and older ladies rubbing sun screen on their arms . At an ice-cream cart inside the premises, the vendor gave me two scoops instead of one and winked, “It’s your double-hundred day.”

... contd.