Meet a fan who saw Sachin's 1st Test match at Wankhede, but now he can only hear

Twenty years ago Thanebased Suhas Marathe made his way to the Wankhede Stadiumrsquos All India Radio box to perform the role of a scorer for the Marathi commentators in the February 19 to 23 1993 India vs England Test match Then he could see Now he canrsquot Marathe a cricket statistician among other things is a victim of the worse type of glaucoma in his right eye He doesnrsquot know when he lost his vision in his left Sach is life Suhas Marathe will follow every word on his television for the next five days at his Thane home PicSameer Markande He is proud that he did scoring in Tendulkarrsquos first Test on his home ground At the opposite end of destiny is his inability to watch the batsman take the field in his 200th and final Test today ldquoYes I am disappointed After all I have watched him play so many great innings on television I even attended a function as part of a member of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Scorers of India ASCCI when we felicitated him and Vinod Kambli for their 664run world record partnership in 1988 Of course I watched his 78 in that 1993 Test match through my scoring assignment which was made possible by Sudhir Vaidyardquo Prized possession Suhas Marathe showing cricket memorabilia and the Wisden Cricket Monthly below that depicts Sachin Tendulkar being run out in the Durban Test against South Africa in 1992 PicsSameer Markande Marathe 62 could watch television without discomfort till 1999 a period which coincided with the great Indianrsquos peak He does not seek sympathy ldquoWhen all my operations failed I said to my wife Sucheta that I will accept my handicap and continue to enjoy life I love cricket philately and old Hindi musicrdquo ldquoOne should face reality and introspect Remember a white line on a black stone is clear as daylightrdquo Today he cannot watch Tendulkarrsquos farewell but will be in front of his television set well before start of play and hear the commentators describe the key moments Asked how well do television commentators serve his purpose he exclaims ldquoThey have been superb All of them Sure I cannot see but thanks to them I can visualise how Tendulkar has played a particular shot I love to hear how he executes a straight drive or displays rocksolid defence The commentators have served me well I particularly liked Greg Chappell but he doesnrsquot do commentary anymore His brother Ian is my favourite He is most impartial mdash always talking about what the players should be doing when confronted with a challenge He does not get overexcited or disheartened Geoff Boycott is good too So is Nasser Hussain and I like Alan Wilkins as wellrdquo Marathe canrsquot wait for a copy of the Sachin Tendulkar stamp to be released during the Test match at Wankhede ldquoIn my philately hobby I concentrate on films cricket and railways All new stamps issued by our postal department come to me since I subscribe to them The first Indian cricketer on an Indian stamp means history is being made I am delightedrdquo said Marathe who served Central Railway as an Office Superintendent before his loss of sight forced him to retire in 2002 mdash a good 10 years before time The Tendulkar stamp will occupy pride of place in the Marathe residence at Thane but the Wisden Cricket Monthly that has a cover image of Tendulkar being run out in the Durban Test against South Africa in 1992 is a prized possession because Tendulkar was the first cricketer to be dismissed through a television replay verdict ldquoI eat drink and sleep cricket statistics Sucheta reads to me all the statistical items from the newspapers and magazines I am now going to enjoy Tendulkarrsquos final Test All his feats are amazing Yes records are meant to be broken but I feel the one Tendulkar mark that wonrsquot be surpassed is his 51 Test centuries I donrsquot think any batsman can score so many hundredsrdquo he saidu00a0