Thank heavens, Sachin missed his 100!

New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal for 85 runs against Pakistan in the second semifinal on Wednesday gave me a sense of relief. His good karma had seen him through this innings but it would have been difficult to stand up and applaud a non-trademark Sachin knock had he achieved the record hundredth international hundred with it.

Even though many would say that he was destined to get to his 100 and should not have missed it after getting as many as six reprieves, Wednesday's Tendulkar was not the batsman one had grown up watching.

Twenty years and 218 days from the day he had scored his first hundred against England, each of Tendulkar's hundreds has been a memorable journey. Wednesday's knock, though an important contribution to India's total of 260/9, didn't seem to come from the Tendulkar who even at the age of 37 has seamlessly blended the boldness of his youth with all his experience.

Tendulkar survived an lbw and stumping appeals off consecutive Saeed Ajmal deliveries early in his innings as the umpire decision review system and the third umpire ruled him not out.

Soon after Misbah-ul-Haq put him down at midwicket on 27 and Younus Khan spilled a regulation catch at cover when Tendulkar was on 45. Kamran Akmal then dropped what was a tough chance yet again of the bowling off Shahid Afridi when Tendulkar was on 70. And a final reprieve came from Umar Akmal when he dropped a long hop catch at wide midwicket with the batsman on 82.

And despite all the reprieve, Tendulkar played non-trademark shots edging deliveries and taking a swipe at balls outside the off stump. Clearly he was living a charmed innings, and when he was finally caught by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, the relief was evident.

It's not that Tendulkar did not play some fluent shots in his innings, but this was not the innings that deserved to go the full distance and bring him to the milestone of milestones. The hundredth hundred deserves a better knock!

Read more at:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/thank-heavens-sachin-missed-his-100/56042-13.html