Sachin Tendulkar at Ranji Trophy match: With Haryana losing nine wickets before noon, the first session was to get a 30-minute extension. The rumbling stomachs in the stands were getting restless. The delayed lunch break puzzled the villagers who had queued at the gates since morning. The manual of cricket rules isn?t quite the most-read book in these parts and Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium won?t replace Chepauk as the venue known for its ?knowledgeable crowds? anytime soon.

Since Mumbai had elected to field, the 8000-plus crowd got a fill of Sachin Tendulkar all morning. They shouted to draw his attention, waved wildly at him and exhausted the memory cards of their phones with pictures that had a distant diminutive figure of a fielder on the fence. Now they needed a break. Unfortunately for them, the umpires, or the Mumbai bowlers, were not obliging. Confusion kicked in, as did speculation. ?Maybe the food isn?t ready,? wondered one worried face. ?No,? said someone else. ?It?s Sachin Tendulkar’s last game; he will decide when lunch can take place.?

The expected cackle didn?t emerge from the group. No one even smiled. This wasn?t a joke. These were serious-looking grown-up men thinking aloud.

Eventually, the introduction of spin, left-armer Vishal Dabholkar, ended the Haryana innings at 134, a slim score that would look even less healthy by the end of the day?s play. That?s because Mumbai finished at 100/4. Out of the 14 wickets that fell, 12 went to pacers while Haryana opener Nitin Saini, in a nightmarish start to the day, was run out even before crowd had settled in.

Wake-up call

Back in the stands after lunch, men stole 40 winks on the grass banks while women sat under trees while keeping an eye on the kids. Sachin Tendulkar was in the pavilion. It was intermission. For those sleeping in the cool breeze, the wake-up call was set to two big roars from the more anxious watchers. Tendulkar bats No. 4; this much they knew. So after Kaustubh Pawar was bowled by an away-going delivery from Ashish Hooda, those enjoying their siestas went into snooze mode. When Wasim Jaffer flicked into the hands of Abhimanyu Khod at short midwicket, probably a set-up planned by Ajay Jadeja, they were wide awake and joined the rest to gawk at the visiting team?s dressing room. Sachin Tendulkar resurfaced and so did the enthusiasm.

Just before tea came the Sachin Tendulkar straight drive, a stroke which once made fans cancel appointments or call sick to office. Medium-pacer Joginder Sharma had pitched that ball on a perfect length. It was an iffy sort of delivery, the kind that batsmen, early in their innings, normally offer a dead bat to. Sachin Tendulkar drove rather than punched, considering Sharma?s lack of pace, between the bowler and mid on. The ball sprinted to the fence, sending nostalgic minds racing down memory lane. Lahli was overjoyed. The home team had just about managed to cross the 100-run mark in the opening game of the season and the rival No. 4, a man sitting on mountains of runs, had hit the ground running. The context or the outcome of the game was the last thing on most minds. After the Sachin Tendulkar sighting, they now wanted a proper ?Sachin show?. ?Four before tea and sixes after that,? said a Delhi-based engineer, who had taken a metro, a bus and a ride on a motorcycle to watch the game.

Mohit?s breakthrough

Six balls after tea, Mohit Sharma, with one brushstroke, changed the frame beyond recognition. The ball pitched on a length, landed on the seam and climbed. Sachin Tendulkar’s push was beaten; the ball hit his right elbow and ricocheted onto the stumps. Mohit was swarmed by his mates. At the end of the day?s play, he called Sachin Tendulkar ?sir? and underplayed the all-important dismissal of the day.

Sachin Tendulkar ?s departure seemed like the green signal for an emergency evacuation drill. Within minutes the stands were bare and the parking areas empty. Lahli made no pretence of being lovers of domestic cricket. They were unabashed Sachin Tendulkar followers. From a stadium with a festive feel and an ODI or IPL kind of rush, it had once again transformed into a domestic venue in the middle of nowhere.

Ironically, the last session was the most engrossing. Three young players ? Mohit, Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar ? tested each other. Mohit, along with other Haryana pacers, bowled a disciplined line on the responsive track. Rahane and Nayar played straight and correct. Mohit?s wicket of Nayar, a result of sustained pressure and back-breaking effort, was the play of the day. The only ones who clapped were Mohit?s team mates. And in the empty stadium the claps echoed.

BRIEF SCORES: Haryana 134 in 35.3 overs (Abhimanyu Khod 27, Mohit Sharma 49; Javed Khan 2/12, Abhishek Nayar 4/38) vs Mumbai 100/4 in 44 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 44*, Abhishek Nayar 24; Mohit Sharma 2/27)