#OTD in 2013: Sachin Tendulkar hung up his boots from international cricket

image-lajnij07Sachin Tendulkar (Source: BCCI)

There was not even a single person on the 16th of November 2013 who wasn't teary-eyed when the great legendary Sachin Tendulkar came down walking from the dressing room of Wankhede Stadium for the final team wearing the iconic Test jersey. The 'God of Cricket' as everyone dearly calls him was batting in his 200th Test which became his last.

The heart-wrenching moment was mixed with feeling of goosebumps when chants of 'Sachin, Sachin' echoed inside the Mumbai's colosseum. And when he bent down to thank the pitch at his home ground, there were a million emotions that we all went through.

India were playing the West Indies side in the second Test after thoroughly beating them at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in the first Test. The Caribbean side were led by Daren Sammy, who were put into bat by Indian skipper MS Dhoni.

Pragyan Ojha scalped 5 wickets to halt Windies on 182, which gave a sense of joy to the fans all over the world. The reason was India would be coming to bat, with master blaster slotted at number four. When the second wicket fell, people were glued to their screen with fingers crossed.

In an fascinating last time, Sachin played a classic 74 runs before holding out a catch to opponent skipper Sammy at slips. And as he was caught, there was stun silence in the crowd, at homes, on the roads because the 'God' had departed. There were tears, sorrow and regret amongst those who were witnessing something they will not forget for rest of their lives.

As he walked past, there were players from opposition coming in to say goodbye to the master. The home team smashed a gigantic 495 on the back of centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, while the Men in Maroon were eventually bowled out for 187 to face the innings defeat by 126 runs.

One thing that stood out was the moment that happened after the match when the God walked out for his memorable speech. And, that day, he broke a billion hearts.

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