Tendulkar's ton or India's win?

NAGPUR: 21-year-old city lad Raunak is still recovering from a sore throat. It wasn't the cold but the loud cheering for India against Pakistan in the World Cup semifinal clash on Wednesday that caused it. Raunak 'lost' his voice the moment Virat Kohli took Misbah-Ul-Haq's catch to give India hopes of lifting the Cup after 28 years.
Raunak, a diehard Sachin Tendulkar fan, is now in a dilemma.He believes his idol should not score a century in the title clash on Saturday. "In the recent past, whenever Sachin scored a century, we ended up on the losing side. And Saturday's match is not the one we can afford to lose" said Raunak.
He is not alone. There are many who are now starting to take this 'statistical superstition' seriously. An SMS joke doing the rounds says 'Pak wanted Sachin to score that century hence they dropped him so many times.'
Sadar resident Vishal Bhatia says, "We were watching the semi-finals at Gondwana Club. As soon as Sachin got out everyone heaved a sigh of relief. I'm convinced had he scored a ton we would have lost. My only appeal to him is that his ton can happen later, but as far the WC final is concerned, Sachin should score anything below 100."
As far as Sachin's match-winning performances go, some people that TOI spoke to remembered only the final of the Coca Cup against Australia at Sharjah in 1998 which India won. Raunak adds "He has not performed that way ever since."
Is Sachin's century really that jinxed? If one goes by statistics, it's almost balanced. Sachin has so far scored 99 centuries (51 in Tests & 48 in ODIs) and 53 of them have been in a winning cause.
In ODIs against Sri Lanka, Sachin has scored 8 centuries. Of these, 5 have figured in India's victory.
If Sachin does score a century on Saturday then it will be a special one in many ways. The ton will be his 100'th and it will be the only one by an Indian in a final. The match could very well be Sachin's last in a World Cup.
"We should think positively and try not to focus on the numbers. Sachin is a match-winner and Mumbai being his home ground we can really expect a match-winning performance from him," says Kadbhi Chowk resident Aniket.
Noted Australian TV commentator and former cricketer Ian Chappell had once remarked that he would pay any amount to watch Sachin play, but he went on to add that if his life depended on the game then he would prefer Steve Waugh.
For cricket-crazy fans, West High Court Road in Dharampeth is the favorite celebration zone. A sea of fans gathered here when India beat Pakistan. The celebrations continued till late in the night. Now, the impatient wait is on for Saturday night.
On Wednesday, Kohli's catch sent the fans into a frenzy. On Saturday, it could well be Sachin's ton and India's second World Cup win!