So, Sachin Tendulkar decided to take a new bat into the World Cup semi-final. Well there's nothing interesting about that on its own. However, his 85 run innings must have been one of the most charmed of all time in such an important match. He was dropped four times, almost stumped (saved by one video frame) and given not out to an LBW appeal that left even the die-hard supporters of URDS looking in to their tea leaves for re-assurance. Had this cricketing God imbued special powers on this new bat to try and get him to a World Cup final in his home city? If you believed in the supernatural you would say it could happen.
Here's an alternative view, if he had played with an old bat as he usually does he would have got his 100th ODI century in the semi-final. Changing his usual routine and familiarity with an old favourite, and playing with a shiny new just knocked in bat moved him away from a warm and cosy place that has brought him to the verge of 100 centuries. He had his reasons (I'd like to know what they were), but if he hadn't made those chancy 85 runs India could easily be watching Pakistan play Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
Superstition and trust to lady luck doesn't make a champion. Unshakable confidence in your own ability and well-worn routines does, and Sachin has shown to be a master of this. Changing his bat for this most critical match in his own glittering career is as brave as it is foolish. He got away with it.
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