Then, when the cat-calls continued, the extraordinary reality finally dawned on me: that the hypnotic spell which Sachin has cast over Indian cricket fans since first representing his country as a cherubic-faced 16-year-old had suddenly been broken.
Russert had appeared as an unlikely icon for television news, with his cherubic face and dimpled chin, but he was a prolific interviewer and tireless journalist, one with an intimidating breadth of political knowledge and insight.