Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman of his time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon as well. His batting is based on the purest principles: perfect balance, economy of movement, precision in stroke-making, and that intangible quality given only to geniuses: anticipation. If he doesn't have a signature stroke - the upright, back-foot punch comes close - it is because he is equally proficient at each of the full range of orthodox shots (and plenty of improvised ones as well) and can pull them out at will.
There are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.
Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.
Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs.
He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game, and he seems to be untouched by age: at 36 years and 306 days he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. It now seems inevitable that he will become the first cricketer to score 100 international hundreds, which like Bradman's batting average, could be a mark that lasts for ever.
Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.
There are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.
Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.
Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs.
He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game, and he seems to be untouched by age: at 36 years and 306 days he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. It now seems inevitable that he will become the first cricketer to score 100 international hundreds, which like Bradman's batting average, could be a mark that lasts for ever.
Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.
Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Current age 37 years 210 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire
Nickname Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
Height 5 ft 5 in
Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School
In a nutshell Perhaps the most complete batsman and the most worshipped cricketer in the world, Tendulkar holds just about every batting record worth owning in the game, including those for most runs and hundreds in Tests and ODIs, and most international runs. More
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 173 283 30 14305 248* 56.54 49 58 61 106 0
ODIs 442 431 41 17598 200* 45.12 20401 86.26 46 93 1927 185 134 0
T20Is 1 1 0 10 10 10.00 12 83.33 0 0 2 0 1 0
First-class 276 435 46 23198 248* 59.63 76 104 174 0
List A 529 516 55 21150 200* 45.87 57 111 169 0
Twenty20 44 44 5 1516 89* 38.87 1171 129.46 0 11 201 21 19 0
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 173 132 4018 2322 44 3/10 3/14 52.77 3.46 91.3 0 0 0
ODIs 442 267 8020 6817 154 5/32 5/32 44.26 5.10 52.0 4 2 0
T20Is 1 1 15 12 1 1/12 1/12 12.00 4.80 15.0 0 0 0
First-class 276 7383 4214 69 3/10 61.07 3.42 107.0 0 0
List A 529 10196 8445 201 5/32 5/32 42.01 4.96 50.7 4 2 0
Twenty20 44 8 93 123 2 1/12 1/12 61.50 7.93 46.5 0 0 0
Career statistics
Test debut Pakistan v India at Karachi, Nov 15-20, 1989
Last Test India v New Zealand at Hyderabad (Deccan), Nov 12-16, 2010
ODI debut Pakistan v India at Gujranwala, Dec 18, 1989
Last ODI India v South Africa at Gwalior, Feb 24, 2010
Only T20I South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006
First-class debut 1988/89
Last First-class India v New Zealand at Hyderabad (Deccan), Nov 12-16, 2010
List A debut 1989/90
Last List A India v South Africa at Gwalior, Feb 24, 2010
Twenty20 debut South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006
Last Twenty20 Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Durban, Sep 19, 2010
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