New Delhi: Stuart Broad has possibly become cricket's main enemy and will be trending all night. He struck in the second session of play on Saturday to halt Sachin Tendulkar and with him, all hopes of a 100th ton in the first innings of the match for the batsman.
Lord's hosted Sachin for the first time in 1990 and he scored all of 10 in the first innings. 11 years and several milestones later, he managed 34 runs with the land-mark being put off for another innings.
The reception that the Little Master received earlier in the day, was emphatic with hopes of his 100th ton looming large. Sachin did not disappoint as he combined with Rahul Dravid to keep the score ticking. The duo looked lethal till Broad found the edge of Sachin's bat and Graeme Swann completed the catch in the slip cordon.
While the optimists and die-hard Sachin fans would now eagerly wait for him to take strike in the second innings, Lord's has not been too kind to him second time around either. While 37 is his highest individual total, scored during the 2007 series, 27 is the highest score that he has managed in the second innings of a Test at the Mecca of cricket so far which, based on sheer numbers, does not auger well for him and his fans who have pinned hopes of a 100th international ton at what is proudly called the home of cricket.
A look back at Sachin in all of his previous four outings at the Lord's hints at an apparent jinx for the man who has conquered every other frontier. While he scored 37 from two innings batting at the sixth position here way back in 1990, Sachin returned to score 31 before being bowled in the only innings he batted, in 1996. Six years later, the right-hander got another chance to show his skill to the Lord's crowd but 16 and 12 was all that the scorers put against his name. His highest, though far from his best, individual score came in the series prior to the ongoing tour.
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