Anil Kumble
It's been really different for me after announcing my retirement. It was a strange feeling to come back home knowing I don't have to get out and leave to bowl again somewhere soon enough. It was a bit hectic at first, with the media waiting outside the house but from
then on, I've been relaxed enough. The amount of messages and good wishes over the last three-four days has been overwhelming. The kind of support and admiration that people have --- I would like to thank everyone who's wished me well, their greetings are much appreciated.
I'd also like to thank the BCCI for the nice function they organised and for honouring the four of us. It's been a fantastic journey for Laxman, till this, his 100th Test. It's been mostly under pressure, not just personally but he's often had to either save the game or win it for us and he's come through. He's really special and a total team man.
I've spent the most time in the dressing room with Sachin and his career has been less than amazing. It was really good to see him get his 40th Test hundred and also interesting to see how someone who's done it 40 times getting a bit jittery when he got to the 90s. It just shows that whoever you are, nerves are nerves! I don't think he was looking at the scoreboard. But once he was dropped he looked up to see he was pretty close to 100! I'm glad he crossed another decade and I'm sure the expectations are now already of him getting 50 Test match 100s. With Sachin, they never end.
As for Sourav, it would have been a lovely end if he had got his 100. It would have made for a bittersweet ending, in the sense of it being his last Test. And then, there's the fact of him getting a 100 on debut and if he had finished with a 100 too, it would have been that perfect ending. But then, his 85 helped the team get to a great position and finally, that's what matters.
A point about someone else who's been a vital part of the journey with the rest of us: There would be a lot of external pressure on Rahul now, but I'd like people to remember that for anyone, a patch without big runs happens. He's been batting well enough in this series, but somehow those big runs haven't come. And this dismissal to Krejza was really unlucky. Imagine the first ball you ever face from someone turns and jumps off the good length, it's the perfect off-break, one most batsmen can do nothing about. Rahul needs to just go out there and enjoy himself as I don't think he has anything to prove.
Meanwhile, the other thing I enjoyed was Bhajji getting Ponting for his 300th wicket. He's had some rough times in his career, right from the start when people questioned his action. He is a real fighter and I'm very happy he's got here. From now on, he will be the mainstay of the Indian bowling attack and his success will be crucial to the team's goals.
It will also be interesting to see how Krejza shapes up in future. Eight wickets in an innings against India for an off-spinner is very unexpected, though he gave away a lot of runs, so let's see what the future holds for Australia in the spinning department. 
Future reminds me, I felt somewhat odd walking into the Board President's box, in the midst of Board officials, instead of being in the dressing room. As I walked in, Sachin and Laxman were batting and that's when it really hit me, that I'm not going to play anymore. It was a tough moment. It passed and things got easier when I dropped into the dressing room, but that moment was very difficult.
I'm pretty confident we'll win the series and that would be a lovely gift for all of us. That's what we all set out to do long before it really began.
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