Tendulkar soothes a nation's pain

CRICKET FIRST TEST:SACHIN TENDULKAR'S outrage over the terrorist murders in his home city of Mumbai has been the most enduring image of the Chennai Test.

His defiant words, played endlessly on Indian television, have felt like an address to the nation.

He speaks of the need to pull together in bad times until the good times return and his vehement final sentence ingrains itself in the memory of all who hear it. "I play for India," he spits. "Now more than ever."

England, who had sensed victory in this emotionally charged Test, ultimately bowed to Tendulkar's unyielding determination to soothe a nation's pain. He wrested victory as his right, his 41st Test hundred transforming an unlikely victory into a formality, a six-wicket win secured with an hour of light remaining.

For India it could not have ended more perfectly: Tendulkar on 99, and four to win. Graeme Swann, England's debutant off-spinner, sent down a delivery that in middle age he will deem a privilege, and as the ball scuttled away to the long leg boundary a crowd of 30,000 screamed with delight. It was the first time Tendulkar had made a hundred in a successful Indian run chase, another ambition ticked off in a career that might have been assumed to have all ambitions fulfilled.

India's 387 for four represented the fourth-highest successful fourth-innings run chase in Test history and the highest ever in the subcontinent. They finished in total control thanks to Tendulkar's unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 163 in 43 overs with Yuvraj Singh, who is assured of an extended chance to prove himself a Test batsman after an unbeaten 85 on a pitch where England felt it was impossible to play expansively. England tried to wind him up and failed abysmally.

If Virender Sehwag was the catalyst for India's successful run chase, Tendulkar - who batted through all but two overs of the final day for an unbeaten 103 in 196 balls - was the man who delivered it.

Once their disappointment has diminished, England should reflect with satisfaction on the part they played in one of the most politically significant Tests in history. The people of Chennai, after initial uncertainty, had come out in force despite heavy security, with about 95,000 spectators watching a game that proved Test cricket still has a future in India.

An England attack worth its salt should have won this match but instead the bowling performance was as disappointing as anything produced in the 5-0 defeat in the one-day series. Andrew Flintoff persevered gamely, without being able to summon too much from a sluggish surface, and Swann, considering that he was a one-day specialist on debut, put in a respectable performance. But Monty Panesar bowled throughout with downcast expression and finished with none for 105.

• Guardian Service