I do not count, but God has been kind, says Tendulkar

The peerless Sachin Tendulkar, who scripted his 47th Test hundred, at the Eden, on Monday afternoon, spoke to The Telegraph later in the day.

The following are excerpts

Q Four hundreds in as many Tests... Quite awesome for a ‘grandpa’, the term recently used by Yuvraj Singh...

A (Laughs) I don’t do the counting... But, yes, God has definitely been kind.

But it was a very different hundred (106) on Monday... You were more the craftsman than the artist, isn’t it?

Well, yes... It was more about having a good partnership (with Virender Sehwag)... Viru and I combined well... Both he and I knew that, if we stayed there, the runs would come. It did work out that way.

On 97, you seemed to get anxious. Were you getting impatient?

No... No... I was looking to play a particular shot, trying to find the gap... I told Viru about it... I wasn’t anxious.

Frankly, do even greats get a bit edgy when just a few runs away from a hundred?

I’d say it depends (on the situation and the approach)... Today, I was prepared to be patient.

Have you thought of dedicating Test hundred No.47 to anybody?

I haven’t.

Disappointed that you fell just 20 minutes before the close...

Look, nobody plays a shot, whatever it is, to get out... It’s not that I would’ve been less disappointed had I got out 20 minutes before tea... Of course, it would’ve been nice had both Viru and I remained not out at stumps... Our plan had been just that... We’d talked about it, but that bit didn’t work out. Having said that, there’s satisfaction that we added 249 (for the third wicket).

Were you upset that sole specialist spinner Paul Harris’s line was often negative?

I wasn’t... After all, we got 12 wides!

The innings saw you complete 6,000 Test runs at home. In the lead up, were you aware that you were close to yet another landmark?

No, I wasn’t... Got to know about the 6,000 runs achievement from the big screen.

Do you actually remember all the milestones?

Most of them...

Aren’t you conscious that you’re just eight away from scripting 100 hundreds (Tests, ODIs) for India?

Honestly, I’m not thinking about it and don’t wish to think about it either... Just want to keep contributing to the team.

Sehwag was again outstanding. Your comments on his big hundred, 165...

You know, when Viru strikes the ball well, he gets big hundreds... That’s his strength... Right through the day, he played some fabulous shots.

What makes Sehwag so special?

Viru’s strength, I think, lies in his balance and in his hands... People talk of footwork, but he has very good hands... Even if the footwork isn’t there, he has the benefit of those hands.

How do you see the next three days unfolding?

All very important days for us... The first session tomorrow (Tuesday) is going to be critical.

The final one: Have you and your son, Arjun (who has already started his cricket career), talked about the latest hundred?

(Laughs) Not yet... I’ll be calling him a little later.