I Shook Hands with Sachin

14th July, the day on which one of my perennial dreams got accomplished. It happened on a bright sunny evening outside the Chelmsford cricket ground, After scoring a majestic 171 runs and having batted the whole day to bail India out of trouble after a much known top order collapse, the man, the phoenix, “Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar” had the patience to oblige us and sign autographs and shake hands with me, yet another hand and yet an other fan for him, but for me it ended a 15 year wait.
Unfortunately though I could not get his autograph ,but for time being this would do his smiling thank you for all the best I said(though there were tens of other people behind and sides of me I would consider that he said it to me exclusively J) .
I and my friend Mahesh share one common thread about sachin, when ever we are desperate to see a match and expect the boss to do good he fails (by our expectations).I had previously gone to a match in Cochin where he scored 4 and Mahesh had gone to Hyderabad where he Sachin departed before Mahesh entered the ground, but here I win over him, I saw the little master bat for about 5 hrs and what more I got to shake hands with him.

The morning was a lazy as any Saturday morning; we had a late Friday night after I had come back from my certification exam. We reached the ground at 12:50 when the players were going to lunch. The scoreboard read 62/3 and like always I asked is Sachin still there and this time it was a yes. The lunch was not good at the ground, but what followed was a feast, the straight drives the cover drives the square drives, names the shot he played them all. The six he hit of the off-spinner landed just inches from where I stood, the little punch in air after that century showed how much he wanted that one.
What else can I ask for now that I have seen the master himself live, I will probably now watch a one day match of his some time in Manchester or oval. I will have to admit one thing here; there has not been a single occasion in these 15 years where my heart beats twice its normal rate, whenever sachem is at the crease facing some XYZ not that he will fail but what if it was this ball he is going to get out.

Century of centuries beckoning you little master push along, we are with you.