Khurram Darbar was an innocuous left-arm spinner from the Mumbai maidans. But in the 1988 Giles Shield inter-school final he troubled the 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar — the world was yet know the teen prodigy as the Master Blaster.

After about three decades, Monty Panesar struck at the same Achilles’ heel and Tendulkar — the Master Blaster couldn’t quite make his last visit to Lord’s memorable. Old habits die hard, but today it was proved they never do.

As Tendulkar misread the Panesar arm-ball and was out lbw, names like Darbar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ray Price, Daniel Vettori and Ashley Giles came to mind. It was the day when the international left-arm spinners’ club can proudly claim that they intimidated one of game’s most accomplished batsman all through his career.

It wasn’t the delivery of the day that Panesar bowled, but it certainly remained the wicket of the day. It was a classic case of poor judgment against a very ordinary delivery that Panesar bowled, undeserving of the 34-year-old batsman to get deceived.

In the end, it was a tragi-comic scene at Lord’s when India ‘s third wicket fell. The stiff upper lip English crowd couldn’t help but let out a roar of laugher watching Panesar’s hysterical jubilation but at the same time they also felt the need to pay somber respect to the legend who would never return here.

Vintage Tendulkar, many had said at the start of his innings. Just before his dismissal, he came up with a classic drive through the covers that signaled that he was feeling comfortable in the middle. In the end, it had to be some good left-arm spin — his palpable weakness against it — that did him in.

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