Not a complete washout

Sachin Tendulkar rarely leaves Chepauk without a Test match century packed securely in the kitbag. But one-day internationals haven't offered him quite the same joy. In three previous limited-over outings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, he had only once crossed 50. The three-figure jinx was halfway to being history when a persistent drizzle intervened.

It wasn't vintage Tendulkar, nowhere close in fact. But it was a gritted-teeth effort high on concentration and common sense. Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman both outshone him in brief partnerships, but while indiscretions curtailed their innings, Tendulkar kept going like Old Man River.

It wasn't a completely utilitarian innings either, encompassing as it did two or three strokes of genuine splendour. A straight-drive off Scott Styris was so magnificently timed that for a moment, you wondered whether rumours of poor form were grossly exaggerated. But other mistimed efforts suggested otherwise, and gave the innings a workmanlike quality. Let's face it, a lot of batsmen would give a bat, gloves and a few endorsement deals to make close to 50 while being at considerably less than their fluent best.

His fans clearly appreciated it. As I walked around the stands in the minutes before the game was called off, there were several voices acclaiming Sachin's "return to form", however premature such an assessment - rooted in hope and wishful thinking - may be. There was also appreciation for the returning Laxman, who was in imperious touch before getting carried away.

Both Laxman and Sehwag struck the ball far more crisply, but they have yet to master the art of making the bowlers pay when on top of their game. Laxman does it regularly in Test matches, but has been unable to transfer that ruthlessness to the one-day game. Until he does, the likes of Dinesh Mongia and Hemang Badani will always have an opportunity to steal his place. Class-wise, they're not even on the same planet, but Laxman's inability to score big means he'll always be on his toes, like a Bolshoi dancer.

Tendulkar's innings created a feel-good atmosphere, dissipated only by the rain. But the smattering of New Zealand fans in the stands also witnessed an event of great significance - the return of Chris Cairns. Jacob Oram and Scott Styris may be attempting to take over is allround mantle, but on his day, Cairns is still a one-day matchwinner without peer - better than Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock or any others of his ilk. There were subtle suggestions in some quarters during the World Cup that he had lost his appetite for bowling. The reaction when he picked up Sehwag - who had taken a liking to Daryl Tuffey's medium pace - suggested that Cairns's bowling taste buds are very much intact.

Normally, such a wet blanket of a game would leave everyone in a funk. But Tendulkar and Cairns ensured that at least a few hard-core fans went home with the hint of a smile on their faces.