Nobody does solos better than Sachin Tendulkar, nor, perhaps, has anyone endured as much heartbreak during those solos. It was India of the 90s all over again: Tendulkar almost chased 351 on his own but, with the target in sight, he got out and the rest choked, falling short by three runs with two balls still to go. In Chennai in 1998-99, Tendulkar, having played an innings as incredible as this, left the last three wickets 17 to get; tonight he left them 19 off 17. He wanted to be left alone that evening, tonight he will want the same.

With Praveen Kumar hitting a six over long-off and then taking sensible singles, it seemed things would finally change for Tendulkar. With five required off the last three, Praveen – batting with No. 11 Munaf Patel – hit to wide of long-off, came back for a second, and was run out by a split frame. Had Praveen dived, or had the throw from Nathan Hauritz been even six inches off, he would probably have made it. That’s how fine the margins were.

Had it been any other team, though, they would have given up long ago and just stood and admired Tendulkar’s work. Not Australia. The bowler of that last over, Shane Watson, will not grudge Tendulkar his Man-of-the-Match award. Watson’s whirlwind 93 set up the total and he then bowled a tight spell in the middle overs that claimed Yuvraj Singh. Coming back at the endgame, he took out Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh in one over when the chase seemed a cakewalk with 52 required off eight overs and six wickets in hand. Watson’s effort, however, was almost a footnote on the night. Such was Tendulkar’s innings.

In recent years 36-year-old Tendulkar had become more an accumulator than dasher but this performance rivalled the batting heights of his youth.Wickets kept falling around him but Tendulkar gave the bowlers only one half chance before he got out. All night they couldn’t get an uncouth shot out of him. He came out of a relatively lean patch, kept the pace up without taking undue risks and playing mostly cricketing shots, struggling for support from the other end, but counterattacking every time a wicket fell.

The acceleration was acute: from 10 off 19 he went to 50 off 47. But by then he had lost Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. MS Dhoni would soon go. But Tendulkar found support in Raina, at 162 for 4. It was a perfect partnership while it lasted.

The Aussies needed every single run to survive Tendulkar. This is not the last Tendulkar special in a ODI chase, he has a 143, 134, 98 and a 117 now a 175. We will surely see more…

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