July 09  
Bereaved Tendulkar opts to bat for India 

LONDON: India's cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar has put aside the grief of his grandmother's death to prepare for a one-day international in England. 

Tendulkar's grandmother, Indumati Tendulkar, who lived with the cricketer at his home in Bombay, died in her sleep early Monday at the age of 92.

Given the option to skip nets ahead of Tuesday's match against England at the Oval, Tendulkar decided to join his team-mates at practice, saying it would help him keep his mind off the tragedy. "It's a personal thing, a sentimental issue and it is up to Sachin what he wants to do," India captain Sourav Ganguly said here Monday.

During the 1999 World Cup in England, Tendulkar lost his father, Ramesh, and decided to return home for the funeral.

He missed one match, against Sri Lanka, but returned to England on the advice of his mother to score a match-winning century in the next game against Kenya.

Tendulkar is widely regarded as the best batsman in modern cricket with 29 Test and 32 one-day centuries to his credit. Tuesday's match is a warm-up for Saturday's tournament final across London at Lord's as India's defeat of Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on Saturday ended Sanath Jayasuriya's hopes of steering his side to the showpiece match.

India have yet to lose in the triangular series and Ganguly said that was an indication of the progress he and Kiwi coach John Wright were making.

"I think we are beginning to realise the importance of playing well as ateam," admitted Ganguly.

"We have great individual records but we realise we have to win for those records to stand out.

"It's mine and John's jobs to make sure the boys realise that winning is important however you perform.

"It's a young team, people are trying to establish themselves and make a name. 

"It's a good dressing room, which has developed over the last one and a half years and the team is turning out well.

"The boys are doing well and delivering but if we find somebody special in the next six months - that is a long time in international cricket - he could walk into the team," he said. "Countries like India and Pakistan always seem to produce special players at certain times.

"The facilities are not as good as you get in this country or Australia or South Africa but there is so much natural talent that somebody keeps cropping up.

"It wouldn't surprise me if someone we have never heard of comes and plays in the World Cup. It absolutely wouldn't."