Kolkata: Wife Anjali and son Arjun had a gala time at the Eden Gardens Wednesday as Sachin Tendulkar turned his golden arm and fielded for India on day one of his 199th and penultimate Test match Wednesday.
Playing the Test in his swansong series at the iconic Eden Gardens, Tendulkar brought big smiles to the face of Anjali when he got rid of Shane Shillingford with a superbly flighted delivery at the stroke of tea.
Of the two overs Tendulkar bowled, one went maiden and the other fetched him a wicket at the cost of a mere five runs.
“It would be great if (skipper MS) Dhoni gives the ball to him now,” Anjali had exclaimed to Arjun, sitting at the club house lower tier, minutes before her husband was indeed asked to bowl.
It turned out to be a wish fulfilment for Anjali.
A delighted Arjun, himself a cricketer, jumped up in joy.
In the morning, Anjali and Arjun came to the ground in response to Cricket Associaion of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya's invitation to Tendulkar's family members.
When Arjun expressed a desire to go around the hallowed ground, CAB officials readily arranged for an escorted tour for him.
The two guests also spent time at the President's Box - which is the preserve of only a chosen few during top-flight matches at the Eden Gardens.
Anjali was also visibly pleased to see Tendulkar's lifesize wax statue put up at the entrance of the dressing room for the match.
“She was very happy to see the statue. She also liked Sachin's cutouts and photos splashed across the stadium entrance,” CAB joint secretary Subir Ganguly told IANS.
“Later, she wanted to meet Sachin in the dressing room, so I arranged for it,” said Ganguly.
Anjali's arrival, however, saw a major blooper on the part of the CAB.
The electronic scoreboard addressing her as "Mr."
Earlier, an unwanted 'e' was added to Sachin's most famous name on a banner, prompting the CAB to issue a show-cause notice to the printer/painter firm.
