The sound of the ball crashing into the timber is not exactly pleasant music to the batsman, particularly so, when the men in question are pushing 40, says a report in The Hindu, adding that is ‘Father Time’ catching up with maestro Sachin Tendulkar?
“When Tendulkar was cleaned up by Tim Southee — the middle stump was uprooted — on Monday, it meant the legendary batsman had been bowled in his last three innings. Tendulkar, 39 now, has been done in by deliveries nipping back into him; he has not helped his cause either by playing across the line,” says the report, adding that if he did not get on to his front foot against left-arm seamer Trent Boult in the first Test at Hyderabad, the Indian, reacting a tad slowly, played across the line against pacemen Doug Bracewell and Southee in Bangalore.
In his last 24 Test innings, Tendulkar has either been bowled or fallen leg-before on 12 occasions. This has meant that the bowlers have managed to dent his defence.
Meanwhile a report in The Asian Age says that it’s a question on everyone’s mind, but Sachin Tendulkar’s. “Following VVS Laxman’s retirement last month, the ‘famous quartet’ has been reduced to just one with Tendulkar remaining as the last man standing. But how long will the maestro go on? The ‘greatest ever tag’ will remain with him forever but the tongues are beginning to wag, suggesting that he is delaying to call time on an incredibly illustrious career. A glance at Tendulkar’s performance in the two-Test series against New Zealand, will tell why,” says the report, adding that in the three innings at home, Tendulkar has scored a mere 63 runs. But it’s not how little he has managed but the manner in which he has been dismissed, that has caused the angst.
“Monday was the third successive time that Tendulkar has been dismissed in a similar fashion — bowled — and the last time he encountered such a problem was a good 10 years ago. Not just that, Tendulkar has been bowled or lbw 12 times in the last 24 innings. It might be too harsh to read too much from it, but some experts feel it’s a sign of age catching up with Tendulkar and his reflexes slowing down,” says the report.
