Mumbai: frenzy grips the nation as Sachin Tendulkar brings curtain down on his 24 year international cricket career from Thursday on his home ground, and the kind of send-off this cricket-crazy country of 1.2 billion is giving has to be seen to be believed On the eve of Sachin Tendulkar's last game for India.
Politicians, corporates, sportspeople, Bollywood and the public have been falling over themselves to show their thanks with everything from shows and dinners to paintings and a silver banyan tree with 199 golden leaves at his previous test in Kolkata last week.
The area around Wankhede Stadium, where he will bow out with a world-record 200th test, is inundated with posters and murals of Tendulkar.
Tendulkar's wife, Anjali, has joked that they may need a museum to house all the gifts and mementos.
The frenzy started more than a month ago when the man with the most runs and centuries in tests and one-dayers announced he'll retire from international cricket after this second test against West Indies.
Tendulkar, who is already having grounds and stands all over India named after him, will have the pleasure of seeing his mother Rajni at the stadium for the first time, as organizers have constructed a special ramp for her wheelchair.
Tendulkar's family and close relatives are known to avoid watching his matches, including older brother Ajit Tendulkar, who was instrumental in channelling Tendulkar's talent during his early years.
"We somehow thought it would bring bad luck to him," Ajit told Headlines Today. "We used to usually only check on his scores or see the highlights at the end of the day."
Such has been the crush from politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists, past India cricketers and Bollywood actors to snare invitations or tickets to the match, that organizers left only 5,000 for public sale in a stadium which seats 33,400.
The website selling public tickets crashed within minutes of opening on Monday, and frustrated fans have staged protests.
Thousands have also milled around the stadium all week to catch a glimpse of Tendulkar.
"I've been coming here for the past three days hoping to buy tickets but have had no luck," said 19-year-old college student Prashant Narvekar. "I think we'll have to make do with seeing Sachin get on and off the team bus during practice sessions."
Current teammate and pace bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was not even born when Tendulkar made his debut at 16 against Pakistan in 1989. "The Little Master" has played with three generations of cricketers.
He came into the team when 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was still playing, and has seen contemporaries such as Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid retire.
The 40-year-old Tendulkar said he can't wait to take the field one last time in the same venue where he won the World Cup in 2011.
"Every step was different and every tour required different preparations," he said in Mumbai at another farewell function. "To play for India has been truly memorable."
