The Sachin Tendulkar Special at the Eden Gardens took a long time coming – it was 11 innings, and more than nine years, since he first played a Test match here – but for the huge crowd, it was as good a Diwali gift as they could have asked for.

He had plenty of points to prove too: his thunder had been stolen by Virender Sehwag, said some; Tendulkar didn't contribute substantially enough when the team was in strife, said others. Well, the Master showed here that he was still some way from relinquishing the tag of best batsman in the world.

Coming in to bat after Sehwag had been brilliantly thought out by the West Indians – a rare instance when they actually plotted a dismissal – Tendulkar didn't move into top gear from the outset. Merv Dillon beat his outside edge a couple of times, but once Tendulkar got his eye in, he never looked like throwing it away.

Tendulkar had got a start each time this series, but Carl Hooper had managed to frustrate him by adopting defensive tactics and forcing the fatal false stroke by choking the runs. This time, with West Indies doing all the running and trying to force a win, that strategy was a non-starter. The West Indian bowlers bowled to him, and soon the vintage strokes flowed in full splendour – the pick of which were the straight-drives which caressed the quick outfield and sent the weekend crowd into raptures.

It was just as well too, that Tendulkar decided to stamp his class today: despite the quick finish to the West Indian innings, there'd been little to cheer for the Indian supporter until then. Sanjay Bangar failed for once, Sehwag's innings was nipped in the bud, and then came the two cuts which, for the umpteenth time in this series, put the spotlight on the umpiring.

Rahul Dravid got his second rough decision of the match, while Sourav Ganguly was handed down the third shocker in four innings. ICC launched their `Elite Panel' project with much hope, but if the officiating in Tests over the past seven months is anything to go by, it's an experiment which, at least in its present format, doesn't have much going in its favour.

While suspicions of bias have been removed by having both umpires from a third country, in no way has the quality of decision-making improved – in spite of having eight of the best. In an age when players have consistently complained of too much cricket, the umpires are certainly justified in objecting to the number of days they spend out in the middle. And unlike the players, the officials have to be on the ball every ball.

On November 9, seven of the eight umpires in the panel will be on duty in different parts of the world. Surely, a figure of eight is a ridiculously low number to have on the panel, considering the packed cricketing calendar. Twelve would be a far more realistic number, but even that might only be a temporary measure before technology has a greater say. That experiment wasn't an unqualified success at the ICC Champions Trophy – the batsmen got the benefit of doubt even where it was almost non-existent – but it would surely reduce the number of blatant errors.

For West Indies, it looks like another case of failing to hammer in the final nail. At 87 for 4, one more wicket was all that they needed to get among the lower order, but the support act for Dillon was a letdown again. VVS Laxman wasn't the protagonist at the Eden this time around, but his invaluable stand with Tendulkar might just allow India to get away with a draw.

S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

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