England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 15 December 2008 /

Mumbai's favourite son hits the winning runs as India come in from [55.0] to record the fourth highest fourth innings total in Test history.

And to think the first Test in Chennai nearly did not go ahead. The deliberating and soul-searching, from both teams, was all worth it as India triumphed in one of the great Test matches thanks to one of the great innings by Sachin Tendulkar.

Appropriate doesn't quite cut it as a word to describe the action. That India won the match would have been enough for some. But the fact that is was the fourth highest run chase in a fourth innings ever in Tests and that Mumbai's favourite son hit the winning runs to go to his century was apt in the extreme.

India and England sent a message that terror can not disrupt the cultural and commercial tapestry of India by ensuring the series went ahead and then rammed it home by producing a historic contest.

After the tragedy in Mumbai, some argued that playing a cricket match was in poor taste. But that was to misunderstand the importance sport can play in life. It proved that it is the best form of escapism and can be used as a vehicle to restore pride. Pride which was damaged in a hail of bullets and bombs only weeks ago.

Regardless of the emotional atmosphere that the match was played in, Tendulkar's century was brilliant in isolation. He has often been criticised for failing to get India home in run chases in the past but his chanceless performance on a wearing pitch will finally censure the detractors.

He will have laid some of his own demons, too. Eight years ago Tendulkar almost produced the innings of his life when trying to steer India to a fourth-innings target of 271 against Pakistan on this very ground. He fell for 136 and India came up 12 runs short. Yet undoubtedly his century in Chennai will be remembered as the innings that defined his career. In one afternoon 'The greatest runscorer of all time' encapsulated everything that the title means, one that has taken him almost 20 years to reach.

During those years the Indian public have worshipped Tendulkar, elevating him to a hero status that the rest of the world has struggled to comprehend. After this they might start to understand.

England are now out to [8.4] to win the second Test, which begins on Friday, with India at [1.86].

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