Kolkata's 199-rose welcome "moves" Tendulkar

Kolkata, Nov 3 (IANS) Sachin Tendulkar, on his arrival Sunday in the city, was welcomed by Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Subir Ganguly and treasurer Biswarup Dey with 199 roses, amid jostling by hundreds of fans desperately trying to get close to him.

Tendulkar will play his 199th Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens here Nov 6-10 in his farewell series.

The CAB officials also handed him flowers used in the worship of goddess Kali at the famous Dakhineshwar temple and a saree which had been offered to the deity.

“He was moved at the reception when we gave him the blessed saree and the flowers. He told us to keep the flowers properly, so they do not break,” said Ganguly.

A large number of lenspersons and television crew had a harried time as the authorities repeatedly made conflicting announcements regarding the gate through which Tendulkar would be brought out from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

The security personnel threw a protective cordon around Tendulkar and put him in a waiting car outside the domestic terminal. However, the vehicle could not move for several minutes as it was surrounded by fans, frantically clicking his image on their mobiles.

While 11 members of the team, including skipper M.S. Dhoni arrived in the afternoon, Tendulkar along with Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav touched down later in the evening.

Fresh from trouncing Australia in a seven-match home ODI series, the Dhoni-led team, including Tendulkar, skipped Diwali celebrations and will be hitting the nets Monday to get into Test match grove.

While Tendulkar will hang up his bat after the two Test series, the rivals will clash in three ODIs .

The second Test is scheduled for Nov 14-18 in Mumbai while the three ODIs will be played Nov 21, 24 and 27.