The nation seems to go ga-ga over Sachin Tendulkar’s latest exploits -- that of scoring 100th centuries in world cricket.  Some people have even gone to the extent of demanding Bharat Ratna for him, and this seems to be somewhat farfetched, and not in the fitness of things, considering the fact that his 100th ton has come very late, after an agonizingly long period of more than a year during which nearly 11 centuries were scored by Indians, even as we continued to wait for Sachin’s 100^th century.

In his quest for reaching the landmark, Sachin almost blocked the growth of the Indian cricket, which remained stuck with anticipation, forgetting that there are other equally, if not more important, things to do, and more worthy milestones to achieve; for instance, beating oppositions and improving the team’s overall rankings, which -- post shattering defeat at the hands of all nations, Bangladesh, recently at Mirpur in the Asia Cup -- has slipped even further down. Latest ICC rankings now put India below Australia and South Africa, at the third spot.

Talking about the latest development, though Tendulkar managed to score a century, finally, it came at a HUGE cost. India had to lose the match. Sachin ate too many balls to make his century even with this India lost the plot, and eventually the match. What is even more disheartening is the fact that he could not become even MoM in that match; it went to Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who hit a lusty 49 off only 31 balls. 

This is not to suggest that Sachin’s feat is not phenomenal; it indeed is. It is no joke to survive for such a long period in international cricket and crack a mind-blowing 100 centuries. However, the nation would have preferred had it come against quality oppositions, and on foreign soils -- and much more importantly -- if that had helped India win more matches than it actually did.