(Image source from: Time for goodbye has come for Sachin})

As the clock ticks closer to the departure of Indian cricket's favorite son, the entire nation seems to have gone into an overdrive.

Sachin Tendulkar is all set to play his 200th test, also his last, tomorrow. For a cricketer who likes his audience, the final match of his career will open to a packed stadium, as fans get into a frenzy to obtain tickets for the historical match.

The mood is poised among his fans, somewhere between a goodbye and a celebration. Most fans are only happy lavishing him with praises, for they know that Indian cricket without Tendulkar is just too bleak.

When the second Test between India and West Indies unfurls at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium tomorrow, Tendulkar will take on the last leg of his glorious journey, a ride that kicked off at the age of 16 in a Test match at Karachi in 1989.

Tendulkar has spent his 24-year long career in building an impermeable edifice, with bowlers banging their heads against their bowls to knock him out.

As the Master Blaster embarks on his final career journey, the country is praying that his finale will be remembered with the same reverence as the “God of Cricket” himself.

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury