Tendulkar weighed down by heaviest of milestones

Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar stood on the brink of batting immortality only to retreat, plunging a milestone-obsessed country into depression and triggering a debate on his vulnerability against the pressure of expectation.

Six runs shy of a record 100th international century, Tendulkar's usually impeccable shot selection deserted him on a placid pitch at his home Wankhede stadium on Friday.

The 32,000-seat venue sported a forlorn and empty expression on the first two days of the third West Indies Test as the tourists piled up 590 runs, but the ground became more densely populated on Thursday before it was packed to the brim on Friday morning in anticipation of the milestone.

Tendulkar whetted the Mumbai faithful's appetite too, upper-cutting Fidel Edwards for a six to waltz into the 90s but the landmark century was to elude him yet again.

Text: Reuters

Images: AP