‘This century, this win is for victims of terror’

The man who holds practically every batting record had never had a fourth-innings victory come off his bat — with him getting an unbeaten three-figure masterpiece along the way. For years, critics had attached a “not a Test-match winner” rider to his peerless accomplishments. On Monday, in putting India 1-0 ahead in the series, Tendulkar closed that argument forever.

To the faces of a billion people mourning the victims of the terrorist attack on Mumbai, this afternoon brought a smile, as India chased down the highest-ever target on a fifth-day pitch in Asia, and the fourth-highest of all time. Kevin Pieterson understood the mood: “Who can write Sachin Tendulkar’s script any better? The man from Mumbai came in and scored a sensational hundred today. He batted like a superstar,” said the losing captain.

Tendulkar dedicated his effort —and his team’s victory — to Mumbai. “My heart goes out to those who went through that terrible time and to those who lost near and dear ones in the terror attacks,” he said. “What happened in Mumbai was extremely unfortunate. It was a terrible loss that will stay with all of us in our hearts. I don’t think the Indian victory or me scoring a century would make people who lost their near and dear ones feel better.

But I would like to dedicate my hundred and this Indian win to the victims of the terror attacks…There were a couple of children in my daughter’s school who lost their parents in the attack.”

From a purely cricketing perspective, the win restored the faith of a generation of Indian fans who have grown up watching India crumble chasing on the final day of a Test match. The epic 406-run chase in Port of Spain was over three decades ago, and at home, the highest India had ever chased successfully was 276, back in 1987.

The climb was steeper this time, but in the end, the peak was scaled with six wickets to spare.

Virender Sehwag had set things up on Sunday with a blazing 86 from 63 balls — an effort that got him the Man of the Match award ahead of Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss, who scored a century in each innings. And on Monday, two 27-year-olds — Gautam Gambhir (66) and Yuvraj Singh (85 not out) — gave Tendulkar some truly outstanding company.