Sachin tells 86-year-old fan... 'I wish you score a century'

Sharing your birthday with Sachin is one thing and cutting a cake with him another. Mary Serrao, an avid fan of the Little Master, was in seventh heaven when MiD DAY introduced them yesterday

Sharing your birthday with Sachin is one thing and cutting a cake with him another. Mary Serrao, an avid fan of the Little Master, was in seventh heaven when MiD DAY introduced them yesterdayu00a0u00a0u00a0

Mary Serrao (86) only shared her birthday with cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. But all that changed yesterday when the 86-year-old avid fan of the Master Blaster met him. She shared with him what her daughter defines as "the greatest moment of her life".



Mary could not thank MiD DAY enough, for fulfilling her wish of meeting Sachin. On April 24, the day Sachin turned 36, MiD DAY carried a front-page article 'Sach a crazy fan' about Mary, who knows all his records at the tip of her tongue.u00a0u00a0
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Yesterday, Mary met her 'God' at Bandra's Mehboob Studio where he was shooting for a commercial. And she was bowled over.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Endless night

Excited about the prospect of meeting Sachin, Mary could not sleep on Tuesday night and kept her family up as well. Said her daughter Cecilia Miranda, "She woke up at 3.30 am and again at 5.30 am and kept telling us: C'mon, c'mon, we have to meet Sachin."u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

At a loss of words

The defining moment was a little past noon when Sachin walked into the room where Mary, dressed in a blue saree, was waiting for him. As he stepped in the room, he made the awestruck Mary comfortable with a warm hug. He sat next to her, but Mary was speechless. Her daughter who accompanied her to the studio pulled her leg as Sachin laughed. "Now, why are you so quiet? You always said you wanted to ask Sachin so many questions. Why don't you ask him?" she said.

Make a wish: Mary and Sachin, who share birthdays, cut a cake at Bandra's Mehboob Studio yesterday. Keeping up with the birthday ritual, the grandma fed a piece of cake to the cricketer	Two good: Mary chats up Sachin about cricket and tells him how she follows every game he playsu00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Talk timeu00a0u00a0

After a few minutes of silence, Mary asked Sachin about his children. "They are fine, I have a daughter Sara who is 11 and a son, Arjun, who is 9. My son likes to play cricket," answered Sachin. When Mary told Sachin that she hoped he scored another 15 centuries, he remarked, "I wish you score a century as well."(Live till you are 100). Mary told the batting maestro that she prayed hard whenever he was on the pitch. "I cry each time you lose your wicket," she said.

"So do I," the cricketer replied in jest.

When Mary asked Sachin about his mother, he said, "My mother is like you, she's always praying when I'm on the field."u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

We made it: The 86-year-old grandma shows Sachin the article featuring her that appeared on the front page of MiD DAY, on April 24, Sachin's 36th birthday	IT's all in the family: Mary's family didn't miss the chance to meet the Master Blaster. They accompanied her to the studio

Cake, curry & moreu00a0

It was a day when all Mary's wishes were fulfilled. She cut a cake along with Sachin to celebrate their birthday and it hardly mattered that it was more than a month late. Mary's rendezvous with Sachin couldn't have had a better ending. "I must come to your home to have fish curry," said Sachin, when Mary's daughter told the Little Master that she cooked delicious fish curry.

Mary just couldn't stop smiling.