Australian Aaron Finch may have earned the man of the match title for his brutal unbeaten 181, as the MCC chased down 293 to win the bicentennial match against the Rest of the World which commemorated 200 years of cricket at Lord's, England.But even he, and to some extent Yuvraj Singh, who hit a fine century when the Rest of the World batted, would have had to concede that on this occasion, neither were the men of the moment.Sachin Tendulkar hit 44. Brian Lara 23.
But for the thousands of people who lined up for as long as three hours before the first ball, and braved the weather which see-sawed from drizzling rain to an almost Caribbean sun, this occasion was about them. Tendulkar and Lara were the men of the moment.Almost half the tickets for the match were sold out long before both were named in the MCC team. Half an hour after that was made known, all the tickets were gone.One retired seven years ago, the other seven months ago. But it never mattered to the sold-out audience, who from the moment the pair came into view, made it known exactly who and why they were at Lord's.
The incessant chants of Saaachinnn...Saaachinnn, rang out even before a ball was bowled, and once Lara came into view, the thunderous applause which followed, was ample testimony to an audience who were clever enough to understand that moments like yesterday remained priceless, since it is unlikely that either will be seen again at the home of cricket and possibly the last time they would be on the same team.There was so much entertainment. Yuvraj never looked better, rising to the occasion with a One-Day century that was cast in the finest tradition of the game.
He and Paul Collingwood had to stabilise the innings after Saeed Ajmal had the Rest of the World reeling at 65-5, with four wickets in a mesmerising four-over spell. Their partnership was worth 131 before Collingwood was dismissed for 40. Yuvraj passed his century seamlessly and together with Peter Siddle added another 84. Just as he appeared to be bursting loose, Tendulkar, to the delight of the audience had him caught on the long-on boundary for 132.The crowd was waiting for that to happen. It wasn't Yuvraj's wonderful innings that concerned them as he walked off the pitch. The little maestro had taken a wicket.Now all that remained was for him to make some runs.
As he and Finch was out to begin the run chase, the deafening noise that rang out had nothing to do with Finch. Each of the 45 balls he faced was filled with expectations, and the seven boundaries that came off his bat, only seemed to increase the hope that he would there when the 294th run came.But it wasn't to be.Instead the wily Muralitharan bowled him and as Tendulkar made his way off, the Prince of Port-of-Spain took over where he left off. Three boundaries, one a trademark cover drive that beat the man on the cover boundary promised much. But in so far as runs were concerned, the Prince could only get 23. His 48 minutes at the crease was awesome, as the fans, who came from all parts of the world, stood up and gave a standing ovation to one of the game's finest entertainers.
Perhaps the greatest tribute paid to Lara and Tendulkar was in the fact that once the game ended, and the presentations were over, the pair were the only two players to journey into the crowd to sign autographs and take photos with the fans.Lord's will never experience a moment like yesterday. Ask any fan who was part of the occasion.