They want to be part of Sachin Tendulkar's parting shot in Motera where he'd written numerous records.
Motera had witnessed Tendulkar's maiden double ton — it was here that he completed two decades of international cricket and celebrated 30,000 international runs. And at this very ground during the 2011 World Cup, he became the first cricketer to complete 18,000 ODI runs. "Though we hope otherwise, it could be our last chance to watch the legend in our stadium," 25-year-old Meet Patel told this paper.
Eden Gardens and the Wankhede Stadium are eager to host Tendulkar's 200th Test. But according to the Indian cricket board's rotation policy, it may have been Ahmedabad's turn to get this much-awaited Test. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians have an uphill task against a confident Otago Volts, who have registered three convincing wins in the qualifiers.
Mumbai Indians looked rusty in their opening game against the Rajasthan Royals, with Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith, Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Johnson, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh and even Tendulkar, who made a 17-ball 15, failing to put up a credible effort.
With only Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard making themselves count, Mumbai Indians have their task cut out. Mumbai coach John Wright said, "It was a jolt, and the ball is in our court now. We have three tough matches and we have to do well. We know exactly where we stand."
Otago have registered 13 consecutive victories going into this game, including 10 in their domestic tournament. "The good part is that we don't feel like underdogs. We feel like we are good enough to match these teams," Ryan ten Doeschate, who slammed a 41-ball 64 in their second win, said.
On the struggles of Ojha and Harbhajan at Jaipur, he said, "They have quality overseas players. But I think they also have strong local players. It will be a tough match. They'll be under pressure and hopefully they'll play into our hands a little bit."
http://facebook.com/srtendulkarfanclub
0 on: "FOR SACHIN TENDULKAR’S PARTING SHOT"