At exactly 9.55 am, when he walked down the staircase of the dressing room into the field, it looked like one of those innumerable India matches where he would go through the routines.
The long time ground-staff of Wankhede, some of whom saw a 15-year-old Tendulkar make his Ranji debut at this very ground 25 years back, came upto him.
A short but warm felicitation followed as the ground staff presented him with a bouquet. The gentleman that Tendulkar is, he called all of them to have a group photograph with them. A snap they would all treasure for the rest of their lives.