Australians rooting for 100th ton: Gillard
First Published : 02 Jan 2012, 17:53
Last Modified : 02 Jan 2012, 12:23
Sydney, Jan 2: As the wait for Sachin Tendulkar’s hundredth century continues, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard hopes that the batting legend reaches the landmark during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series in Australia. The Australian premier expressed his somewhat surprising wish at a high tea hosted for the two cricket teams on the New Year’s Day.
Gillard was quoted as saying, "While Australians are barracking very hard for our cricket team, I think they are looking forward to what may be a very special 100 [from Tendulkar] in Australia some time during the course of this series."
However, like the captains of other teams who have played against Tendulkar since he completed his 99th ton, Australian skipper Michael Clarke hopes the hosts will be able to prevent the legend from getting to the landmark.
Clarke’s team-mate Michael Hussey was quoted as saying in a report published on the Cricket Australia website that the "stars are aligning for Sachin Tendulkar to clock up his century of centuries during the SCG's 100th Test."
The report added, "Tendulkar has been sitting on 99 Test and one-day tons for nine months, but is hoping to end the frustrating wait at his favourite ground outside of India. […] History suggests the drought will be broken during the second Test at the SCG.
"In the four Tests he has played in Sydney, the Little Master has compiled 664 runs at an astonishing average of 221.3," the report said.
