Sachin Tendulkar defends rotation policy in Australia

Sachin Tendulkar addresses a press conference during the celebration to mark his 100th century in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)

MUMBAI: Senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday defended the controversialrotation policy that was adopted during the disastrous tour of Australia, saying that the idea was to keep everyone fit as it was a long tour.

After maintaining silence over the contentious issue of rotating three senior openers in the ODI tri-series in Australia, Tendulkar said the much-talked about policy was planned.

"It (rotation idea) was decided by our senior players and captain ( Mahendra Singh Dhoni). We felt that since it was a long tour without long breaks it would be good to give rest to some borderline cases (injuries). I am not saying they were injured. No one was dropped," said Tendulkar at a 55-minute media interaction with a select group of journalists.

The rotation policy saw Tendulkar, vice-captain Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir being rested in turn.

It became a highly contentious issue when Dhoni indicated to the media that all three seniors cannot be fielded in the same match as they would concede 20 extra runs on the field.

Sehwag had then retorted that it was not the reason given at the team meeting by the captain when it was decided to follow the policy.

Tendulkar also felt that what was discussed in the dressing room needed to remain within the four walls. "But that's my view. Individual views may differ."

Later at a media conference he had said he cannot comment on what was said at the media conferences in Australia by some teammates as he was not present.

"I don't know what was said (in what context) and what their (players) intentions were," he reiterated.

Critics don't need to tell me when to retire: Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar said he had played cricket because he loved to do and there was nothing better than playing for India. (PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: "My critics haven't taught me my cricket," Sachin Tendulkar has said in a rebuttal to those who were calling for him to retire.

Sachin said: "The day he feels "a little less passion" when walking out to bat for India, I will give up the game" adding, "critics didn't need to tell me to do so."

Tendulkar said he had played cricket because he loved to do and there was nothing better than playing for India.

"I still get goosebumps as I stand with my teammates when the national anthem is on. I still feel the same passion when I pick up my bat and go out," he said in an interview carried in the latest issue of 'Open' magazine.

"They (critics) can question but none of them have answers to their own questions. None of them has been in my predicament and it is impossible for them to understand what I have been thinking and feeling," said Tendulkar, who scored the historic 100th international ton in the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh last week.

When asked whether the final hurdle of scoring the hundredth century was the most difficult, the veteran batsman said: "There is no doubt it was. The 100th hundred was the most difficult to get. I really don't know why but it was."

"May be because it turned into a national obsession. May be because I wasn't able to escape talk of the 100th hundred and it was affecting me at a subconscious level. May be God was trying me harder," he said.

Asked whether the thought of retiring from ODI cricket had crossed his mind after India won the World Cup last year, Tendulkar said such a thought had never occurred to him.

"A number of my friends have also asked me why I didn't retire from ODI cricket after winning the world cup, they may well be right. It would indeed have been a grand exit, emotions were running high and the timing could not have been better but to be honest such a thought never occurred to me," he said.

"There's Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Garfield Sobers, two of the greatest ever cricketers to have played the game. In my time, there have been Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid. Each of them is a great player," Tendulkar said.

"The one thing my journey has taught me is that however good you are and however talented you are, you have to be ready to grind it out in times of difficulty. You must be prepared to work hard. Keep working hard. And harder.

"There was never and never be a shortcut to success and it is important to know this and pursue your dream with passion, determination and intensity. That has been my belief right through my career," he said.

Tendulkar said he wanted to see India playing well in Tests and be a part in the resurgence.

"I want to see India start playing well in Test matches and I would want to play a part in the resurgence. We played very good Test cricket for five to six year before we lost the series to England and subsequently to Australia.

"I can tell you losses hurt, they hurt really badly. The entire team is keen to stage a turnaround and give fans a lot more to cheer about when we play England in October/November this year. It is important to overcome the really bad phase and move on and I want to do my bit to ensure that Indian Test cricket is back on track," he explained. 

Sachin Tendulkar says I'm not God, I'm Sachin

MIRPUR: It was a match of "mixed emotions" for Sachin Tendulkar after Bangladesh upset India even as the batsman himself conquered an elusive personal summit.

Sachin reached the 100th hundred milestone with probably the most lustily cheered single of his career - a clip towards square leg off the bowling of Shakib-al Hasan, but the celebration was muted, just a characteristic look skywards with arms raised and a kiss planted on the India logo on the helmet.

After the disappointment of watching the Bangladesh batsmen cart India's bowlers all over the park, he told reporters: "I am not God. I am Sachin Tendulkar."

He admitted the long wait of 33 innings for the ton frustrated him at times. "I felt even after 22 years, the cricket god was testing me over the last one year. I will be honest, I was frustrated at times, but I never gave up," Tendulkar said. "It's a wrong notion that I didn't go to West Indies to get my 100th hundred in England. You can never plan your hundreds, if I could, I would have been something else.

"I came so close so many times. I could have got it in Oval (against England), in Mumbai (against Windies) or in the first two Tests in Australia. My feet were moving so well, I just didn't know why it was not coming. It was difficult, those who haven't gone through it won't know how difficult it was."

Next came the loaded question. Now that he has reached the magic mark, what's the next milestone for him? "I've never played cricket for milestones. While playing, I have ended up breaking a few records, but that was never my goal. I play cricket just because I enjoy the game. The 100th hundred was the most difficult."

Just after completing his century, Tendulkar "thanked God". "I was not looking at the scoreboard. I just took it one ball at a time and looked to do it for the team. Even after completing my century, my job was not done."

Tendulkar had turned out for practice a couple of days before the Bangladesh game with a couple of young guys in tow. How does he explain that dedication even after so many years of international cricket?

"It's never too bad to practice, isn't it? Yes, it was my off day and I wanted to get a feel of things and that's why I turned up. At the end of the day, I love the game and that's why I am here."

The defeat in the game came up for discussion and the obvious query was whether India played a little too slow? "I don't think so. We had a look at the wicket and decided that 275-80 was a decent score. We were well on track, but Bangladesh played really well and won the game. Don't forget they are a decent side and could have won against Pakistan also."

Now that the 100th hundred is done, is he going to call it quits?

"If I decide to retire, it won't be done secretively. I will let you guys know. As of now, I am enjoying the game," Sachin said, promising to enthrall cricket lovers for some more time to come.

When he was batting, it seemed the Indian team was on a mission to help Tendulkar get to the mark. Sporting a new hairdo, Tendulkar's free-flowing shots dried up the moment the ton became a possibility. Suresh Raina, his partner, walked up to him, asked him to stick with the singles, and started taking all the risks.

Tendulkar had clearly decided that he wouldn't give it away this time. After all, he had made 80-plus scores four times in the past year without hitting a ton. The most treacherous stretch, of course, was the 90s.

A boundary early on brought the pressure down a bit and he was merely one shot away. Overs went by, impatience grew, and a few jibes started flying about. But none of this reached Tendulkar's ears. It was his tryst with a landmark he had crossed 99 times before.

Finally, the moment came on the four ball of the 43rd over. As the whole stadium stood up, the Bangladesh players rushed in to congratulate.

"Enjoy the game and chase your dreams, I think dreams do come true," he said after the knock.

Sachin Tendulkar's 100th century will stand the test of time
So where do we all stand with reference to the Hundred 100s? Do you love 'em or hate 'em? Do you think they're meaningless? And so, despise and condemn the very fabrication of the idea? Do you want it to go away? Have you decided to ignore it because the number itself is unimportant, media hype born of a gluttonous monster of the celebrity market? 

Well, first things first. The landmark, meaningless or otherwise, has been crossed. Those numbers are going to be in our face whether we like it or not, till the time cricket is played. 

For Sachin Tendulkar, it is a box he is relieved to have ticked off. It had both weighed him down and, after winning the World Cup, dragged him through a year that has come very close to being the worst of his career. 

Building an Innings 

All this because of a record that had been "created". What is forgotten in arguments over the veracity of the 100 hundreds is that, there was nothing "fake", or artificial about Tendulkar's role in the exercise. 

Both sets of centuries were added together, rather than kept apart, because of their sheer scale. There were just so many, and particularly in the past five years, he had kept them coming. Tendulkar suddenly found himself down an unrecognisable road because of something he - with his excellence, longevity, adaptability and focus - had created. Created, we must remember, not destroyed. Built. One ball at a time, one run at a time, one innings at a time, one century at a time. Into a monument of cricketing architecture that will stand forever. 

Over the course of a year, the record though began to radiate the power to dismantle. It may have dented Tendulkar's myth a little, led to vociferous debates about retirement, even turned him into something of a moving target. It led Tendulkar to miss a Test series for reasons other than reported injury for the first time in his career, drove him back to the ODI game after the joy of a World Cup victory. 

In the background of India's eight-away Test failures, he kept trying to keep seeking form and fluency, to find the touch and response that his game was built on. He showed that he was willing to go anywhere to find it. What he was not willing to allow though, was for himself to be completely dismantled. Not now. 

Creating a Milestone 

Perhaps, in order to stop ourselves from getting so twisted up inside about where the record stands, we should firstly accept the 100 hundreds will always stand. Approval or disapproval is not going to have them shrivel and quietly vanish, head hung in shame. 

After that, a step back from the debating society convention and a deep breath will probably be useful. 

Here are the two points of reference for the 100 hundreds: the 100th as it happened on Friday and the 99 that preceded it. What you make of the 100 hundreds depends from which of those you approach them. 
First to Mirpur, where Tendulkar went very close to playing the slowest 100-plus innings of his ODI career in a match where some revved-up Bangladeshis grabbed centre stage and the game away from India. Should he have been quicker? Surely. Was he anxious? Surely. Was he anxious about crossing his century above all else? Only mind-readers or Tendulkar will answer this question dispassionately. Was the pace of Tendulkar's innings the whole, sole or the biggest reason for India's defeat? Hell, no. 

Moving on. There is a simmering disapproval of how and where the 100th hundred was arrived at and why it took so long. As if it were a very specific type of pizza - whole wheat, thin-crust, quattro formaggio - with delivery promised inside 30 minutes. Between December 2010 and March 2011, Tendulkar had marched ahead so purposefully, scoring four centuries in 12 innings, that it may have scrambled the mind and got everyone ahead of themselves. Who knows, even him maybe. 

Let History Decide 

It is at this point that the advice of Sanjay Manjrekar, an astute analyst of Tendulkar's era, is useful. In about an hour of the 100th hundred, Manjrekar said on Twitter: "The focus should not be about how he got his 100th hundred, but how he got his 100 hundreds." 

Which means looking at the 100 hundreds in their full scale. Not tomorrow but a decade from now. This turmoil will fade, then the numbers will still shine. Fifty years on, of all his records, it is the 100 hundreds, regardless of meaninglessness or fabrication, will speak of the size of his achievement and his significance in the game. They will seem unbelievable, impossible. Looking down their list, historians will shake their heads, like we do at Bradman's 99.94. No matter what we say today, no one will take away Sachin Tendulkar's one hundred hundreds for India. Because they are all true.  

The man who beat the machine

For his two decades in the game, Tendulkar has kept the fame monster, every big sportsman's nemesis, at bay

Sharda Ugra

March 16, 2012

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	Tendulkar lives with the crowd bearing down on him forever, surrounding him, making demands of him © Associated Press  Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Sachin Tendulkar Teams: India Other links: The Sachin Tendulkar journey

Even after the shouting has subsided and the whirling dust of celebration given way to the stillness of normalcy again, Sachin Tendulkar's numbers will still speak eloquently and loudly. A hundred international hundreds is an unreal number. It is more than a four-minute mile or a perfect ten or a clutch of Grand Slam titles in tennis or golf majors.

As Tendulkar's final step towards the Hundredth extended across series and continents and lasted days and months, the record was deemed to be artificially created and farcically obsessed over. The quest went from being considered an enormous feat to a petty pursuit. Whatever else it may be, Tendulkar's numbers will never go away, no matter what we think of them. Or even that the 100th came against an opposition far from formidable, in a tournament never lauded, in an unfashionable town and, with a final wicked twist, a game that was lost.

The context of Tendulkar's 100th century will be remembered today, tomorrow, even at the end of his career. Debating societies will exhaust themselves over its significance, particularly what transpired between 99 and 100. But the memory of Tendulkar's labours over the last 12 months will not outlast the hundreds. The numbers will neither be repeated nor surpassed. A hundred hundreds are the stuff of sporting eternity; this is our generation's 99.94.

For an entire year it actually seemed destined to become the 99.94 - a final Bradmanesque flourish of imperfection. In less than three months, between December 2010 and March 2011, Tendulkar had scored four centuries in 12 innings. His march towards the 100th was, we believed, destined. A hundred centuries was a landmark waiting to be reached. Except, of course, like every cricketer will tell you, nothing is merely written, because everything is accounted for. The game sought its dues and Tendulkar paid with with heavy interest. Between Nagpur and Mirpur, he has clanked through various gears to find the form to take him past three figures. From free-flowing to fastidious, from studiousness to abandon, from the purity of shot to anxiety of thought. He came close, went adrift and over and over again.

Tendulkar's failure to get across that ever-receding line had actually begun to shrink the hundred in its import. In the period, he took surprising decisions that have still not been clearly explained: he first missed out on a Test series for the first time in his career for reasons other than injury, and he chose to return to the ODI game after the World Cup, first in Australia and then, to everyone's surprise, in the Asia Cup.

Along with Tendulkar's trials, there was mayhem in India's Test cricket, the team went through two tours from hell. The eight Test defeats were larger than the absence of a Tendulkar hundred. Eight-zero reflects a worrisome future for Indian cricket which is not going away soon. The completion of 100 centuries still stand though for Tendulkar's appetite, drive and sheer cussedness as a competitor over two decades - and the combination of those qualities will be gone from Indian cricket sooner rather than later.

What unsettles some is that Tendulkar's 100th had to arrive in ODI cricket. Mirpur was not pretty, it did not round off a great script, it did not reflect the nobility of the longer version of the game, or indeed, the purity of Tendulkar's own game at its best. India didn't even win. But there it was. Slammed down our throats like a shot of country liquor. Gulp that down, boys.

Yet, it was in the short form cricket that Tendulkar became the boy-man to walk out for India and it was with 50-over feats that he first grew in the public eye. His identity as team-mate and prodigy, colleague and hero in Test cricket, will remain his most enduring. But one-day cricket has always been bread and butter. Tendulkar has often said that opening the innings in ODIs helped bring a greater range of shots into his Test game. So what if Mirpur was not poetry or fine dining? Right now, bread and butter will do just fine.

The 100 international hundreds are an essential part of the reason why Tendulkar has continued to survive in the game; this desire to put his game into repeated examination, has remained front and centre in his life, over and above everything else - the pop-icon status, the cult, the insane fans, the media circus, the protesting body, the clock, the scorn. The fact that the 100 hundreds even exist is because he wanted questions asked of himself and he found ways to answer them. A few minutes after Mirpur had happened, Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted to say that attention should not be so much on the 100th hundred, "but how he got his 100 hundreds."

	For a large demographic looking for clarity in a churning world, Tendulkar represents an idea that will always wrestle with contemporary circumstance: the athlete as a clean, fair, respectful and successful competitor. It is so old-fashioned a notion that it gets called boring

Today Tendulkar is seen on billboards, on television, in magazines and newspapers, saying this, offering that, standing for something else - a corporation, clothing, a bank. This constant presence can dim an athlete's aura and annoy his public. But magically, not Tendulkar's. In the world of advertising and marketing, they may think of him as The Brand, but he is yet to be been consumed by it. The Brand is not yet a brand. Unlike what Andre Agassi - a Tendulkar contemporary at one stage - became for a while. Or like David Beckham is now. Or Tiger Woods used to be. Or MS Dhoni has tipped over into. As India and Indian cricket have changed during the course of his career, Tendulkar mysteriously has not.

In his two-decade-long odyssey, his main opponents, you would imagine, were bowlers, pitches, the opposition. He was, however, also involved in another contest, running on a parallel track for the same length of time. Tendulkar versus the Machine.

It was Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith who first described the Machine in 1997, as he tried to argue the (now tragic) claim of Tiger Woods' father: that his son was not just a golfer but humanity's Chosen One. Smith didn't believe the idea, because, he said, in the contest against the Machine, with its "chewing mechanism of fame", the athlete could never win.

Circa 1997, Woods was what Tendulkar still is, and these were Smith's words:

"The machine will win, because it too is destiny, five billion destinies leaning against one... it will wear the young man down, cloud his judgement, steal his sweetness... The machine will win because it has no mind. It flattens even as it lifts, trivialises even as it exalts, spreads a man so wide and thin that he becomes margarine..."

In just over a decade Smith's fears for Woods came true. The Machine today is a recognisable, seductive, dangerous thing. It is fuelled by success, fame, money, celebrity, the image industry, all of which have seeped into the Tendulkar career, alongside the startling inevitability of his progress. Every series, every game, every season, every year, every achievement, Tendulkar goes up against his external adversaries and also the Machine. That he has stayed ahead of the Machine so far is as much of an achievement as 100 centuries and thousands of runs. That he has not turned into margarine is a miracle.

In an interview Tendulkar spoke of a moment early in his career, about what had happened to him just after he pulled on the India cap and t-shirt: "You start thinking that, oh, I'm somebody special." An unnamed friend then sent him a message. "Just tell Sachin that I've noticed he is probably starting to think differently. The sooner he realises that, the better it is."

Tendulkar said, "And I sat back and I realised that, yes it was true..." It is not the most profound piece of wisdom, it was probably a mate, saying, "Hey, don't act like a punk, yaar." But it came at the right time. For the particularly gifted and successful athlete, the penny often drops all too late.

Tendulkar's survival in a brutal business - Indian cricket, which first skyrocketed to financial highs before achieving consistent sporting success - has extended beyond his being a conventional "role model", defined and lauded by "good" public deeds. For a large demographic looking for clarity in a churning world, Tendulkar represents an idea that will always wrestle with contemporary circumstance: the athlete as a clean, fair, respectful and successful competitor. It is so old-fashioned a notion that it gets called boring.

Being so boring is actually hard work. For a man who hates losing, it cannot be said Tendulkar has no ego. (All the great ones have large egos.) For a man who loves cars, it cannot be said he does not appreciate wealth. (Who does not?) What probably overrides both these powerful intoxicants, along with the advice from his friend, is a central belief that keeps Tendulkar a step ahead of the Machine, that convinces him to keep his own publicity at bay.

He is not merely a student of cricket but, in fact, a devotee. Tendulkar never throws his bat, ever. There is a clue there. He understands what he would be without that bat. If he leaves the dressing room like a snarling competitor (telling Virender Sehwag before they went out to bat together against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, "I'm going to get these guys") he returns with humility. Every dismissal is a reminder of his flaws, his weaknesses.

His former India coach John Wright says that after he is out, there are never wild displays of emotion. The aggressor and accumulator becomes a reflective batsman in the dressing room who sits down to debrief himself. It is why, Wright said, Tendulkar "knows where to go with his mind and his technique".

Those around him say he forgets nothing about his time in cricket, about others who shared the field with him, what happened, what was said to him. Be it in his neighbourhood as a schoolboy, or in his first club game, or during a match played before thousands, when a nation held its breath. It is why he goes to meet his now-ailing coach before every tour, how he stays true to his gift. It is how he dodges the Machine.

	Tendulkar: a cricket devotee © Getty Images  Enlarge

Twenty years on, what is easiest to understand about Tendulkar is his cricket. How it all falls into place: the eye reads the length of the ball, the mind decides to pick a stroke, the feet follow that instant of shot selection, the arms and torso choreograph towards the moment of impact.

It is the man who has evaded the Machine who is the mystery. People say it is his background, his family, his deep moorings, but the Machine has always seen it all before and still won. Maybe it is because Tendulkar actually comes from another time, when he played a different sport to the one he now explores. He comes not only from a time that is now just memory, his familiar surroundings as a growing boy have now turned into another place. When all else fails, it is there, that time, that space that he can return to in his mind: what did he want to do as a 14-year-old? Bat. Score runs. How many? A hundred. When? Every time. The 100 India hundreds are not the only ones that define his career; he also has 38 first-class hundreds. And the schools cricket scores, and the pick-up matches he could play, and the tours he went on when he was 13 or 14 or 15.

When Tendulkar first broke through, he was a very shy teenager, a prodigy who didn't like being treated as one, who hated attention and barely spoke to strangers. Who disliked being photographed outside his area of work. Who had police constables standing outside the examination hall where he took his class XII exams. He could have folded up, he could have fled, but he has looked the Machine in the eye and stood his ground. It means now, on the field, the crowd bears down on him, surrounds him, demands of him. There is not a public space in India that he can walk free in; his holidays in Mussoorie for the last few years now have begun and ended with a short press conference.

It is the Machine, always at his side, purring, growling, always trying to win. He will have to keep it at bay for the rest of his life, but for the moment, with the fortress of a hundred international hundreds around him, Sachin Tendulkar is winning.

LIST OF RECORDS HELD BY SACHIN TENDULKAR-The Little Master

1. Sachin Tendulkar is the Highest Run scorer in the One day Internationals
2. Sachin Tendulkar is the Highest Run scorer in the Test Cricket
3. Most number of hundreds in the ODI 48
4. Most number of hundreds in the Tests 51
5. Most number of nineties in the ODI
6. Most number of man of the matches in the ODI's -61
7. Most number of man of the series(15) in ODI's
8. Best average for man of the matches in ODI's
9. First Cricketer to pass 10000 run in the ODI
10. First Cricketer to pass 15000, 16000, 17000, 18000 runs in the ODI

11. He is the highest run scorer in the world cup - 2560 runs at an average of 56.95
12. Most number of the man of the matches in the world cup
13. Most number of runs 1996 world cup 523 runs in the 1996 Cricket World Cup at an average of 87.16
14. Most number of runs in the 2003 world cup 673 runs in 2003 Cricket World Cup, highest by any player in a single Cricket WC
15. Man of the Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
16. Most number of Fifties in ODI's
17. He is the only player to be in top 10 ICC ranking for 10 years. 18. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so.
19. First and only cricketer to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. India's highest sporting honor
20. In 2003, Wisden rated Tendulkar as d No. 1 and Richards at No. 2 in all time Greatest ODI player

21. In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman.
22. he was involved in unbroken 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli.
23. Tendulkar is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts
24. In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire
25. Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma vibhushan by Indian government. He is the only Indian cricketer to get all of them. And the only cricketer to receive Padma vibhushan.
26. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODI's 8 times
27. Tendulkar has scored 1894 runs in calendar year in ODI's most by any batsman
28.First batsman in the history who was given out through third umpire.
29. He has the least percentage of the man of the matches awards won when team looses a match. Out of his 61 man of the match awards only 7 times India has lost.
30. Tendulkar most number man of match awards against Australia

31. Tendulkar was the first batsman in history to score over 50 centuries in international cricket
32. Tendulkar was the first batsman in history to score over 75 centuries in international cricket: 99 centuries
33. Has the most overall runs in cricket, (ODIs+Tests+Twenty20s) he had accumulated almost 33294 runs overall. (as of dec 14)
34. Sachin Tendulkar with Sourav Ganguly hold the world record for the maximum number of runs scored by the opening partnership. They have put together 6,271 runs in 128 matches
35. The 20 century partnerships for opening pair with Sourav Ganguly is a world record
36. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid hold the world record for the highest partnership in ODI matches when they scored 331 runs against New Zealand in 1999 (Sachin 186*, Dravid 153)
37. Sachin Tendulkar has been involved in six 200 run partnerships in ODI matches - a record that he shares with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
38. Most Centuries in a calendar year: 9 ODI centuries in 1998
39. Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs (41 Centuries and 87 Fifties)(as of 18th Nov, 2007)
40. the only player ever to cross the 13,000-14,000 - 15, 000and 16,000 run marks IN ODI.

41. Maximum number of boundaries in a single innings, holds the record with sehwag (25 fours)
42. Maximum number of 150 plus scores in ODIs
43. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 ODI runs against all major Cricketing nations.
44. Sachin was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs taking 259 innings and has the highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs
45. Most number of Stadium Appearances: 90 different Grounds
46. Consecutive ODI Appearances: 185
47. On his debut, Sachin Tendulkar was the second youngest debutant in the world
48. When Tendulkar scored his maiden century in 1990, he was the second youngest to score a century
49. Tendulkar's record of five test centuries before he turned 20 is a current world record
50. Tendulkar holds the current record (217 against NZ in 1999/00 Season) for the highest score in Test cricket by an Indian when captaining the side.

51. Tendulkar has scored centuries against all test playing nations. He was the third batman to achieve the distinction after Steve Waugh and Gary Kirsten
52. Tendulkar has 4 seasons in test cricket with 1000 or more runs - 2002 (1392 runs), 1999 (1088 runs), 2001 (1003 runs) and 1997 (1000 runs).[6] Gavaskar is the only other Indian with four seasons of 1000+ runs
53. He is second most number of seasons with over 1000 runs in world.
54. On 3 January 2007 Sachin Tendulkar (5751) edged past Brian Lara's (5736) world record of runs scored in Tests away from home
55. Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. Both of them achieved this in 195 innings
56. Second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches
57. Became the first Indian to surpass the 11,000 Test run mark and the third International player behind Allan Border and Brian Lara.
58. Tendulkar is fourth on the list of players with most Test caps. Steve Waugh (168 Tests), Allan Border (158 Tests), have appeared in more games than Tendulkar.
59. Tendulkar has played the most number of Test Matches for India (Kapil Dev is second with 131 Test appearances).
60. First to 25,000 n 30,000 international runs

61. Tendulkar's 33,000+ runs in international cricket include 18000+ runs in ODI's, 15,000+ Tests runs and 10 runs in the lone Twenty20 that India has played.
62. On December 10, 2005, Tendulkar made his 35th century in Tests at Delhi against Sri Lanka. He surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 centuries to become the man with the most number of hundreds in Test cricket.
63. Tendulkar is the only player who has 150 wkts and more than 15000 runs in ODI
64. Tendulkar is the only player who has 40 wkts and more than 11000 runs in Tests
65. Sachin hit the first double century in the 40 year history of one day internationals 

Consistently brilliant, universally admired and modest to a fault, India's Sachin Tendulkar has ruled world cricket for more than two decades with his record-shattering batting. 

Sachin hits 100th ton 

As the "master blaster" became the first player to score 100 international centuries on Friday, millions of adoring fans in India and abroad bowed to the man often worshipped like a demi-god in his country. 

Over years of high-pressure national expectation and fierce media attention, Tendulkar, who turns 39 next month, has barely put a foot wrong, remaining the smiling, boyish figure he was when he burst on the world stage in 1989, aged 16. 

His 100th international ton adds another jewel to the glittering career of cricket's most celebrated living batsman, who holds all coveted batting records except Don Bradman's career average of 99.94. 

Tendulkar, a copybook right-hander, has played more Tests (188) and one-dayers (462) than any player in history and compiled more runs and centuries in both forms of the game than anyone else. 

His 49th one-day ton - alongside 51 Test hundreds - came a year after he realised his childhood dream of being part of a World Cup-winning campaign. 

Now in his 23rd year in international cricket, Tendulkar remains as passionate about the game as he was on his debut against Pakistan in November, 1989. 

His batting had begun to be questioned in India, with unprecedented talk of his retirement following a disappointing recent series in Australia. 

The father of two has taken a year to record his 100th ton after getting the 99th in the World Cup last March. 

Tendulkar has a string of records to his name, including making the first double-century in one-day internationals when he made 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior in February 2010.

The cricketing world first took notice of the child prodigy when, aged 17 and playing only his ninth Test, he hit a match-saving 119 not out against England at Old Trafford in 1990. 

Tendulkar still regards that 100 as one of his best, but what followed in Australia in 1991-92 set the standard for a career as one of the modern greats. 

Having scored an unbeaten 148 in the Sydney Test, Tendulkar mastered the spiteful Perth wicket to hit a brilliant 114 against an all-out pace attack. 

The innings prompted veteran English writer John Woodcock to stand up in the press box and declare: "This has to be the best batsman I have ever seen... and unlike most of you I watched Bradman bat!" 

Since then, Tendulkar's longevity and string of lucrative commercial endorsements for everything from watches to cement has brought him huge wealth. 

He has an insatiable love of fast cars and is rumoured to drive around the streets of Mumbai in the early hours, but his otherwise humble, family-based approach to life has meant fans still feel a close bond with him. 

News late last year that he had moved into a new luxury house in Mumbai with his wife Anjali, a medical doctor, and two children, was greeted nationwide with the interest of delighted relatives. 

"It's been a privilege to play for India for so long," Tendulkar has said. "Cricket is my passion. I think it is a gift from God that I have been able to live that passion for so many years. It's just fantastic." 

Off the field, Tendulkar sponsors 200 under-privileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO run by his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. 

He has also helped raise funds for numerous causes like the crusade against cancer and the creation of basic facilities, particularly toilets for girl children, in 140 government schools across the country. 

No longer keen to hold the captaincy, a role in which he did not prosper, he remains the most-prized wicket in cricket. 

Fit, balanced and with hunger for more runs, retirement still seems to be far from Tendulkar's mind.
 Sachin Speaks : "It's been a tough phase for me. I started off the season batting reasonably well, i was luckless. I was not thinking about the milestone, the media started all this, where ever I went, the restaurant, room service, everyone was talking about the 100th hundred. Nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. It was slightly different, the ball was not coming onto the bat. It hasn't sunk in but I've definitely lost about 50 kilos. Doesn't matter how many hundreds you've scored, you still have to put your head down and score for the team. Dreams do come true. I had to wait for one for 22 years (the World Cup)."