Profile
Sachin Tendulkar can unquestionably be called the 'face of modern cricket'. He follows Don Bradman and Viv Richards as his generation's most successful batsman. The only close competitors Tendulkar faced were Brian Lara and, in more recent times, Ricky Ponting. Statistically, while Bradman scaled unreachable heights, Tendulkar, by his sheer consistency in longevity, marked his area with expansive width that shall, like the Australian great, probably never be conquered.
By the turn of the century, watching Tendulkar as India's lone warrior staging single-handed fights - while carrying the hopes of a billion hearts - was cricket's grandest spectacle. Too often his achievements would be let down by lack of support from teammates. Yet, his ability to continue to live to fight another day, shoulder blame unfairly and always delve into positives transcends Tendulkar beyond a cricketing icon to a role model and a prized treasure for the oft-tarnished image of the sport. By the end of it all, through each seemingly-effortless, technically-perfect shot that made batting an art form rather than a laborious effort, Tendulkar went on to be the game's leading run-getter, half-centurion and centurion in the two most pre-dominant forms of the game.
It is paradoxical that at the start of all these achievements was performance of nothingness - a debut ODI duck and an unflattering debut Test 15 against Pakistan as a 16-year-old. It underlines the old adage of attitude over talent, reminding everyone that even legends have to struggle to find their feet. He did make it big, of course, one small step at a time. First replacing Sanjay Manjrekar as India's most formidable batsman of the time and then becoming the only contender to Sunil Gavaskar's stature in Indian batting history. Finally, even the great Don Bradman drew parallels between himself and Tendulkar. In between, captaincy called on a few occasions, but it was one thing he wasn't cut out for. The "Little master" was also one of the very few who came out with his head held high as always, following the match-fixing scandal.
Following the turn of the century came India's ascendency after disappointing pasts during Tendulkar's foray in the peak of his career. He was now provided with the long-awaited support crew. But he still remained the mainstay while guiding his nation towards the summit of Test rankings. If Bradman started high and ended low, Tendulkar started low to rise unfathomably even miles before his end. A coveted World Cup remains a lone elusive unfulfilled dream and that would be a fitting crescendo for the most supreme batting marvel of his time.
Fast Facts
- Sachin Tendulkar was the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997 and recently, the ICC Player of the Year for 2010.
- He is the leading run-getter and centurion in Tests and ODIs.
- Tendulkar became the first to reach 50 Test 100s.
- He is also the only player to score more than 90 international centuries.
- No player has made more international 50s than Tendulkar in all formats together.
- 'The Little Master' was the first batsman in ODIs to reach the 10,000 run milestone.
- He became the first to score a 200 in ODIs.
- Crossing an unprecedented milestone of 17,000 ODI runs in 2009, Tendulkar stretched his lead as the highest run-scorer in ODIs.
- He holds the record as the youngest Indian to make an international debut.
- Tendulkar is the only player to score two or more centuries against each of the other nine Test playing nations.
- He also holds the record for the most number of Test appearances.
- Tendulkar has got the highest number of Man of the Match and Man of the Series awards in ODIs.
- Statistics
- Show:
Matches Innings Runs NO Avg. SR 100's 50's Test 176 288 14532 31 56.54 54.18 50 59 ODI 442 431 17598 41 45.12 86.25 46 93 T20 1 1 10 0 10 83.33 0 0 IPL 35 35 1170 5 39 123.81 0 8 CLT20 4 4 148 0 37 139.62 0 1 Career
Span:- Test:
- 1989-2010
- ODI:
- 1989-2010
- T20:
- 2006-2006
- IPL:
- 2008-2010
- CLT20:
- 2010-2010
- Test
- Debut:
- India Vs Pakistan at National Stadium, Karachi - Nov 15, 1989
- Last played:
- India Vs South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban - Dec 26, 2010
- ODI
- Debut:
- India Vs Pakistan at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala - Dec 18, 1989
- Last played:
- India Vs South Africa at Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior - Feb 24, 2010
- T20
- Debut:
- India Vs South Africa at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Dec 01, 2006
- Last played:
- India Vs South Africa at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Dec 01, 2006
- IPL
- Debut:
- Mumbai Indians Vs Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Bombay) - May 14, 2008
- Last played:
- Mumbai Indians Vs Chennai Super Kings at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai - Apr 25, 2010
- CLT20
- Debut:
- Mumbai Indians Vs Highveld Lions at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Sep 10, 2010
- Last played:
- Mumbai Indians Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Kingsmead, Durban - Sep 19, 2010
