The morning of the second day of the Mumbai Test was enthralling. Sachin Tendulkar resumed batting from his overnight score of 38 and the mammoth crowd was on its toes. Tino Best started the proceedings with the ball. What ensued was an entertaining battle between the master and the man who “Was trying to impress him”.
Cheteshwar Pujara, at the other end, took easy singles off length balls as Best preserved his fire for Tendulkar. “Sachin is a legend. He’s completed 24 years in the game and I am like a baby to him,” Best told bcci.tv of his battle with the great man.
“I was just trying to impress him while also trying to get him out. I wanted him to have a memory of Tino Best and I gave more than 100 per cent for that.”
Best kept pitching it short or just back of a length, beating Tendulkar on several occasions. Invariably, the champion batsman would hit back with authority – a gorgeous straight drive, a cracking backfoot cover drive. The West Indian pacer would go down on his knees with disappointment in his follow through. He wanted the wicket really bad and there was a more personal reason.
“It’s my son’s birthday today. He turned 13 and I had promised him I’ll get Sachin’s wicket for him. But the man came on top even at the age of 40. The 74 runs he scored were just pure class. He showed he still has it in him even in his last game.”
The barrage of short balls that Best hurled at Tenddulkar was a strategy that the bowler admits didn’t work as they had hoped. “It was a team plan. We thought he can still drive and cut well but maybe at 40 he might be ruffled with the bouncers. But that wasn’t the case. He fought and won the battle against the short balls,” Best acknowledged the legend.
Best didn’t get the wicket he was desperate for, but he did end up with the important wicket of MS Dhoni. When Darren Sammy completed the catch, Best broke into a series of wild celebratory moves – a kiss on the cross around his neck, a few punches in the air, chest-fisting.
“I had worked really hard since morning but didn’t pick any wicket. So, to dismiss Dhoni, who is an incredible player, was a bit emotional,” Best said of his celebrations. “I am a very passionate player and believe in living it to the fullest because we get to play only for a few years. Not everyone has a long career like Sachin, most successful careers last about 10 years.
While Best got Dhoni, the race among the Windies bowlers of ‘who will dismiss Tendulkar in his last Test’ was won by off-spinner, Narsingh Deonarine. “I think he is going to talk about it until he dies. He definitely has the bragging rights,” Best said.
As his own battle with Tendulkar goes, Best had the consolation prize – his moment with the master, if you will. After Best beat him with a short ball, Tendulkar, on his way to the non-striker’s end, patted the excruciated bowler on his shoulders and said a few words. The moment will remain with the pacer for a long time.
“He just said, ‘Keep trying, young man’! It was very nice of him to encourage me like that and it kept me going. It just told me that the game is not easy and you’ve just got to keep trying.”
