Arjun Tendulkar, ball boy

Sachin Tendulkar had also been a ball boy in late 80's (IE Photo Neeraj Priyadarshi)

Mihir Vasavda : IE  Mumbai, Sat Nov 16 2013, 09:59 hrs

ON the day Sachin Tendulkar, in all probability, batted for the last time in international cricket, his son, Arjun, became a ball boy at the Wankhede. All the ball boys were from the Mumbai U-16 and U-14 teams. "It's a normal thing where we have junior cricketers as a ball boys. The idea is to give these youngsters experience of watching international cricketers first hand," Nitin Dalal, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) joint-secretary said. After all, Tendulkar had also been a ball boy in late 80's, once demanding to be at the end from where Manoj Prabhakar was bowling to observe him closely.

Gayle, the showman

CHRIS Gayle is a crowd favourite. The crowd went flat on Sachin's dismissal but the Jamaican took it upon himself to liven things up. Getting the crowd involved with some banter, his was the name that echoed around the stadium. The crowd demanded Gayle be given the ball and he encouraged them to urge his skipper. He put on quite an act when Sammy did not oblige. Always the showman is Gayle.

No pressure, Rohit

THE symbolism blanketed the stadium. The moment Rohit Sharma reached reached his century, the giant screen flashed a picture of Sunil Gavaskar hugging a young Tendulkar in the late '80s. Apart from Tendulkar, Sharma was the only other player to get a rousing welcome. Don't read too much into it. Just saying.

Sachin silences all

WHEN images of Rahul Gandhi sitting next to Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan were beamed on the giant screen, a section of the crowd started chanting the name of Gandhi's nemesis and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. A Tendulkar straight drive though, had the crowd gagging. Even now, he can focus and be the focus.