Final Test

The deafening noise in the Wankhede turns to silence so complete that you’d swear you can hear Tendulkar’s footsteps as he begins the walk back to the pavilion. It’s the end of an era, they said. No more switching off televisions when he got out; no more resounding chants of ‘Sa-chi-i-i-n, Sa-chin!’ In November 2013, Sachin Tendulkar played his final Test. Dilip D’Souza builds on close and detailed observation of those two and a half days, capturing all the hysteria it spawned, the love and adulation that showered from the rafters at the Wankhede, the choking emotion, and yes, there was a match on too, against the West Indies. Final Test discusses cricket from the old to the new, as Sachin takes to the pitch one final time.