The ODI Double Ton

24th Feb, 2010. India vs South Africa day-night ODI on at Gwalior. 2nd match of the series with India already 1 up. The Indians had started well & Sachin is playing like he used to in the early 90s, at a strike rate close to 130. Nilanjan keeps pinging updates from time to time over the communicator .... Sachin 50, Sachin 100, Sachin 150. I'm busy working on stored procedures for the Friday deadline.

Evening around 5:30ish. I glance at the score. India have crossed 300. In the 40th over. Sachin is on 184. I ask Nilanjan about the world record. He replies, "194, aaj mil jayega guru". That's it. I leave the cubicle & walk over to where Nilanjan, Vijendra, Cyril & Srini are bunched together. All cricket sites are blocked, they're following the score on ChannelW, which is slow in updates as usual.

By now, there's a buzz in the office. No one's working, everyone's following the score. Soon enough, Sachin crosses Saeed Anwar's 13 year old record .... it's like a load of every self-respecting Indian's chest. Complete strangers handshake congratulations across cubicles .... such is the power of cricket & stature of Tendulkar in India. The wait for the double ton begins.

The internet connections are choked. People get on the phone home. I call Daddy. Yes, he's watching. Dhoni is going ballistic, hogging the strike & dealing in boundaries .... the ball-by-ball reads something like this 644.46. The score is close to 380. Sachin is reportedly suffering from cramps. Only 7 balls to go. Dhoni takes a single of the last ball of the 49th over. There's a collective 'awwww' in the cubicle.

He finally gets strike after yet another Dhoni boundary & with 4 balls to go. Hits a single & gets it. Handshakes all around. Somebody asks his manager, "so where's the party?". Dhoni blasts another & takes the score to 401/3. Who wins the match is only academic now. Indians have got what they've been yearning for all this while.

And as the commentator says, "no one deserves this more than Sachin". The Indian, the cricketer, the legend.