Tendulkar scales another peak

It's almost 20 years since Sachin Tendulkar played his first one-day international, but his latest innings - his 435th in this format - showed he hasn't lost any appetite for this format

It's almost 20 years since Sachin Tendulkar played his first one-day international, but his latest innings - his 435th in this format - showed he hasn't lost any appetite for the 50-over game. His stunning 175 did everything apart from win India the match - it equalled the highest by any batsman against Australia, and was his ninth ODI hundred against them, the most by a player against a single team.

Early in this innings, he also entered another exclusive club of one, becoming the first batsman to reach the mark of 17,000 ODI runs. Next in line, in terms of ODI runs, is Sanath Jayasuriya almost 3800 runs behind. The 175 Tendulkar scored was his 45th ODI century, 17 more than the second-placed Ricky Ponting and Jayasuriya.

Apart from the sheer number of runs, what's amazing about Tendulkar is his consistency. Leave aside his first 3000, and he has averaged more than 40 in each of his 3000-run intervals. And for those who were predicting a drop in form and motivation, Tendulkar's recent numbers show none of that - he has averaged more than 47 for his last 2000 runs, and has averaged 53.28 at a strike rate of 94.43 in his 15 innings in 2009.




Some of his best innings have been against the top team of his generation, which speaks volumes about his class. Tendulkar has scored 2995 runs against Australia, which is his highest aggregate against a single team and the most that any batsman has scored against them. Among the 19 batsmen who've scored 1000 or more ODI runs against Australia, Tendulkar's average is fourth. His conversion rate, though, is the best - out of 23 fifty-plus scores, nine have been centuries.


Over these years, Tendulkar has been key to Indian fortunes - he averages almost 57 in matches that India win, but the slumps to 33 in games India lose. His 32 centuries in wins is more than any other batsman has scored in his entire career, which is a telling statistic of how far ahead of the pack Tendulkar is.

Tendulkar has also scored more than 19% of the runs that India have scored in the games which he has played. It's more than the corresponding percentage for all batsmen who've scored more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. Among the other prominent openers who haven't touched 10,000, Desmond Haynes has a slightly higher percentage - 19.58, to Tendulkar's 19.34.

Tendulkar's overall average is an impressive 44.59, but it gets even better in games in which he has opened the innings. In 312 such matches, he averages 48.28 at a strike rate of 87.68, with 41 centuries and 70 fifties - that's a 50-plus score every 2.8 innings. The average is the highest among openers who've scored 3000 runs, but the strike rate is exceptional as well - only Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya have scored faster, but none of them average more than 37.

Dhoni has balanced head, sharp mind: Tendulkar

New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar says Mahendra Singh Dhoni is “very good” as captain and has a “sharp mind”.Dhoni is “very good…he got a balanced head on and off the field and I think he has got a sharp mind. His situational awareness is very good and that (is) the quality that I noticed quite early in him”, Tendulkar told NDTV in an interview, to be telecast Friday.

Asked about his reported suggestion of Dhoni’s name when Rahul Dravid stepped down from captaincy, he said: “I have never talked on this publicly. I conveyed to the (board) president Mr (Sharad) Pawar at that time and also to (then selectors’ panel chief) Dilip Vengsarkar. We had a meeting and whatever I had I spoke to him. I don’t believe in talking about certain things publicly.”

On his own stint as captain and if it affected his game, the little master said: “It was media who projected it wrongly and if you go back and see my record as a captain I was averaging 51.”

Commenting on his long-time teammate Sourav Ganguly’s announcement of retirement, Tendulkar said: “I was little bit surprised but you know as I said earlier, the individual knows exactly when to move away from the game and I don’t know exactly what’s going on in his mind, what he thinks of his future.”

“I allowed him to settle down a bit and I am sure it must have taken him a long time to reach that. And it’s a big decision. It is a difficult decision. If he feels that this the way to go, then we all should respect (it).”

Remarking on Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist’s allegations, he said: “I did not know how to react to that because I couldn’t have imagined this in my wildest dream because I love this sport…”

“I consider them loose statements. I think I am the kind of person who’ll leave things behind and move forward… Because he had found out that Harbhajan and I were not traceable to shake hands… I just reminded him that I was the first one to shake hands after the Sydney match.”

Sachin Ala Re... Dhoni TOO

Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni thrill the crowds, on the field or off it. So when the people turned up in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Friday to felicitate the master blaster, who recently scored the highest Test runs and the captain-in-waiting Dhoni who, as the stand-in skipper, led India to victory over the Aussies in the Mohali Test, there was bound to be some fireworks.

Both were honoured with the traditional Maharashtrian pheta and a sword amid scenes of jubilation, as thousands turned up from every nook and corner of Pimpri-Chinchwad to give their heroes a standing ovation.

Tendulkar and Dhoni were in town for the inauguration of the Dilip Vengsarkar Cricket Academy set up in association with the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation at Thergaon.

There was one hitch though. The crowd was badly managed by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and the city police. Rather than managing the crowd, they played crazy fans.

Chaos reigned during the hour-long stay of the ace cricketers at the venue. The moment they arrived at the gates of the stadium, all hell broke loose. A stampede-like situation prevailed for minutes. Over 300 shutterbugs, both professionals and amateurs, went on a clicking spree blocking their entry into the stadium. Even as the two were being led on stage, the jostling lensmen and local fans tried to keep pace. Some tripped and some got hurt, others just fell down by the side and were left out.

The volunteers appointed to help the security made life miserable for mediapersons. It was perhaps sheer providence that the two cricketers escaped unscathed.

There was more tamasha on stage. Alongside speeches, the corporators, MLC, civic officers and local heavyweights present, many with their children in tow, vied with one another to get their pictures clicked with the Cricket stars. There was a melee as autograph hunters too got on stage. After the show, the scene was replicated on the ground where the two went out to toss for the inaugural match between Maharashtra XI and Mumbai XI.

Thankfully, both Tendulkar and Dhoni kept their cool, smiling and signing autographs without any fuss. In fact, Tendulkar, who has Z-plus security cover, reportedly asked his security staff to remain in the vehicle.

And when it was their turn to speak, the two didn't let the crowd down....




“Namaskar,” said Sachin as the crowd of youth waiting for him since early morning went delirious. “Mehanat kara, phal jaror milel. (work hard, it will yield fruit),” he said while thanking the residents for the honour bestowed on the two.

Tendulkar said he was sure the academy would produce outstanding cricketers. He didn’t utter a word on the comment made by Adam Ghilchrist regarding the monkeygate incident.

With the colourful pheta in place, Dhoni, the Jharkhand boy, hoped the “academy will not only produce Ranji trophy cricketers, but also Test cricketers.”


Municipal Commissioner Asheesh Sharma played down the chaos during the visit. “Such things do happen... But overall, the function was very good. I was sitting next to Sachin and he sounded very happy. He was enquiring about the city and how the academy will be developed.”...

Some remarkable achievements of his career

Some remarkable achievements of his career are:
* 4th highest tally of runs in test cricket (10,134) at an outstanding average of 57.25 (highest among those who have scored over 8,500 test runs) as of March 2005
* Most runs (over 13642) and centuries (38) in one-day internationals
* Only person to have scored over 11,000 ODI runs and over 25 ODI centuries as of April 28, 2005
* Highest ODI batting average among Indian batsmen and among all batsmen who have scored over 7,500 ODI runs (as of April 3, 2005)
* Most Number of Man of the Matches in one-day internationals
* Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs in ODIs as of April 2005
* Most Number of Runs in World Cup Cricket History
* First cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark in ODIs
* Has equalled Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 test centuries.
* Among those who have played over 100 test matches, he is the only one with a batting average above 55.
* Only second Indian to cross 10,000 runs in Test matches.
* He has the most centuries in ODI cricket against Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
* He is the fastest to score 10,000 runs in test cricket history. He holds this record along with Brian Lara. Both of them achieved this feat in 195 innings.
* To go with this he has 34 hundreds in Test cricket at an average of 57. An average above 50 distinguishes a batsman as an all time great.
* Highest individual score in ODIs among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999)
*1994: Arjuna Award Receipient for achievements in Cricket
*1997: Tendulkar was one of the five cricketers selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year
*1997/98: India's highest sporting honour - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
*1999: Padma Shri - India's civilian medal of recognition
*2008: Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.
*In August 2003, Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the "Greatest Sportsman" of the country in the sport
personalities category in the Best of India poll conducted by Zee News.
*In November 2006, Time magazine named Tendulkar as one of the Asian Heroes.
*In December 2006, he was named "Sports person of the Year"
The current India Poised campaign run by The Times of India has nominated him as the Face of New India next to the likes of
Amartya Sen and Mahatma Gandhi among others

Man of the series awards

Tendulkar has won a world record 14 ODI MoS awards over his 18 year career.

1 Singer Series (Australia, Sri Lanka) 1994 136 (4 Matches & 3 Innings, 1x100)

2 Wills World Series (West Indies, South Africa) 1994/95 285 Runs (5 Innings, 1x100, 2x50); 39-4-155-8; 1 Catch

3 West Indies in India ODI Tour 1994/95 246 Runs (5 Innings, 1x100, 2x50); 16-0-93-1; 1 Catch

4 Silver Jubliee Independence Cup (Bangladesh, Pakistan) 1997/98 258 Runs (5 Innings, 3x50); 23.3-0-148-5; 6 Catches

5 Coca-Cola Cup (Australia, New Zealand) 1997/98 435 Runs (5 Innings, 2x100, 1x50); 19-0-101-2

6 India in Zimbabwe ODI Tour 1998/99 158 Runs (3 Innings, 1x100); 6-0-41-0; 1 Catch

7 Coca-Cola Championship (Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka) 1998/99 274 Runs (5 Innings, 2x100); 14-0-51-2; 1 Catch

8 South Africa in India ODI Tour 1999/00 274 Runs (5 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); 49-1-219-6; 1 Catch

9 Coca-Cola Cup (West Indies, Zimbabwe) 2001 282 Runs (5 Innings, 1x100, 2x50); 4-0-25-0

10 England in India ODI Tour 2001/02 266 Runs (6 Innings, 2x50); 30.5-158-2; 3 Catches

11 2003 Cricket World Cup 2002/03 673 Runs (11 Innings, 1x100, 6x50); 18-0-77-2; 4 Catches

12 TVS Cup (Australia, New Zealand) 2003/04 466 Runs (7 Innings, 2x100, 2x50); 21-0-125-1

13 West Indies in India ODI Tour 2006/07 191 Runs (4 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); 23-0-112-4

14 Future Cup (vs South Africa at Belfast) 2007 200 Runs (3 Matches, 3 Innings, 2x50)

Man of the match award

Tendulkar has won a world record of 57 ODI Man of the Match Awards in his career
1 Sri Lanka Nehru Stadium, Pune 1990/91 53 (41b, 7x4, 1x6); 9-0-39-2; 2 Catches
2 West Indies Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1991/92 11* (27b, 1x4); 10-1-34-4
3 South Africa Eden Gardens, Kolkata 1991/92 62 (73b, 8x4, 1x6); 5-0-27-1
4 West Indies MCG, Melbourne 1991/92 57* (88b, 2x4); 10-1-38-0
5 Pakistan SCG, Sydney 1991/92 54* (62b, 3x4); 10-0-37-1
6 Zimbabwe Westpac Park, Hamilton 1991/92 81 (77b, 8x4, 1x6); 6-0-35-1
7 New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland 1993/94 82 (49b, 15x4, 2x6)
8 Australia Premadasa Stadium, Colombo 1994 110 (130b, 8x4, 2x6); 3-0-15-0
9 New Zealand IPCL Ground, Vadodara 1994/95 115 (136b, 9x4), 3-0-27-0
10 New Zealand Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi 1994/95 62 (54b, 13x4); 10-2-29-2
11 West Indies Eden Gardens, Kolkata 1994/95 66 (68b, 8x4); 8-2-35-1
12 Sri Lanka Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1994/95 112* (107b, 15x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
13 Kenya Barabati Stadium, Cuttack 1995/96 127* (138b, 15x4, 1x6); 5-0-26-0
14 West Indies Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior 1995/96 70 (91b, 8x4)
15 Pakistan Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1995/96 118 (140b, 8x4, 2x6); 7.1-0-40-2
16 Pakistan Toronto CSC Club, Toronto 1996 89* (89b, 9x4, 3x6); 2-0-12-0; 1 Catch
17 Australia Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore 1996/97 88 (111b, 9x4); 8-0-45-1; 2 Catches
18 South Africa Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 1996/97 114 (126b, 14x4)
19 Zimbabwe Willowmoore Park, Benoni 1996/97 104 (97b, 8x4, 1x6); 3-0-16-0
20 New Zealand Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore 1997 117 (137b,13x4, 2x6); 7-0-35-0
21 Pakistan Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka 1997/98 95 (78b, 6x4, 5x6); 7-0-45-3
22 Australia Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi 1997/98 8 (11b, 1x4); 10-1-32-5
23 Australia Green Park Stadium, Kanpur 1997/98 100 (89b, 5x4, 7x6); 4-0-19-0
24 Australia Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1997/98 80 (72b, 9x4); 4-0-21-0
25 Australia Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1997/98 143 (131b, 9x4, 5x6); 5-0-27-1; 1 Run Out
26 Australia Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1997/98 134 (131b, 12x4, 3x6); 1-0-12-0
27 Kenya Eden Gardens, Kolkata 1998 100* (103b, 13x4); 1-0-4-0
28 Sri Lanka Premadasa Stadium, Colombo 1998 128 (131b, 8x4, 2x6); 1-0-13-0
29 Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo 1998/99 127* (130b, 13x4, 1x6); 1 Catch
30 Australia Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka 1998/99 141 (128b, 13x4, 3x6); 9.1-0-38-4; 1 Catch
31 Zimbabwe Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1998/99 118 (112b, 14x4, 2x6); 1-0-4-0
32 Zimbabwe Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 1998/99 124 (92b, 12x4, 6x6); 4-0-16-1; 1 Catch
33 Kenya County Cricket Ground, Bristol, Bristol 1999 140* (101b, 16x4, 3x6); 1-0-23-0
34 Zimbabwe Kallang Ground, Singapore 1999 85 (72b, 7x4, 3x6)
35 New Zealand LBS Stadium, Hyderabad 1999/00 186* (150b, 20x4, 3x6); 1 Catch
36 South Africa IPCL Ground, Vadodara 1999/00 122 (138b, 12x4); 9-1-43-0
37 Sri Lanka Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah 2000/01 101 (140b, 3x4, 1x6); 5-0-22-0
38 Australia Nehru Stadium, Indore 2000/01 139 (125b, 19x4); 1 Catch
39 Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club, Harare 2001 70 (70b, 13x4)
40 West Indies Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo 2001 81 (110b, 8x4); 2-0-14-0
41 West Indies Harare Sports Club, Harare 2001 122 (131b, 12x4, 1x6); 2-0-11-0
42 Kenya Boland Park, Paarl 2001/02 146 (132b, 17x4)
43 England MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 2001/02 68 (79b, 10x4); 1-0-8-0; 1 Catch
44 West Indies Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain 2001/02 65 (70b, 3x4,1x6); 3-0-20-1
45 Sri Lanka County Cricket Ground, Bristol 2002 113 (102b, 12x4, 1x6)
46 Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club, Harare 2002/03 81 (91b, 10x4)
47 Namibia Pietermaritzburg Oval, Pietermaritzburg 2002/03 152 (151b, 18x4)
48 Pakistan Centurion Park, Centurion 2002/03 98 (75b, 12x4, 1x6)
49 Australia Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior 2003/04 100 (119b, 9x4, 1x6); 6-0-39-1
50 Pakistan Pindi Club Ground, Rawalpindi 2003/04 141 (135b, 17x4, 1x6); 6-0-45-0
51 Bangladesh SSC Ground, Colombo 2004 82 (126b, 10x4, 1x6); 10-0-35-3
52 West Indies Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur 2006/07 141 (148b, 13x4, 5x6)
53 West Indies IPCL Ground, Vadodara 2006/07 100* (76b, 10x4, 1x6)
54 South Africa Belfast, Northern Ireland 2006/07 93 (106b, 13x4, 2x6)
55 England The Oval, England 2007/08 94 (81b, 16x4, 1x6)
56 Pakistan Gwalior, India 2007/08 97 (102b, 16x4)
57 Australia SCG, Australia 2007/08 117* (120b, 10x4)

Oz tour set up Sachin's magic show

SACHIN Tendulkar revealed his maiden tour of Australia 16 years ago had played a key role in shaping his brilliant career.

Centuries in Sydney (148 not out) and Perth (114) in that five-Test campaign of 1991-92 gave the man who is now Test cricket's leading run-scorer confidence to prosper in any conditions against any attack.

Tendulkar's coming of age in Australia came less than five months after he notched his maiden Test ton in England -- a match-saving and unbeaten 119 in Manchester.

"I think the first hundred will always be the important one," he said. "It was a special one because we kept ourselves alive in that series in England.

"The Australian tour immediately after in 1991-92 was extremely good for me because I had a good tour, scored a couple of hundreds at Sydney and at Perth, two different kind of surfaces.

"That gave me immense confidence. I felt I could tour anywhere in the world now and score runs. That was probably the turning point of my career, I would say."

Tendulkar's ton against a four-man battery of Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and Paul Reiffel on a WACA Ground wicket which, in those days, was a haven for pace bowlers, remains one of the great innings played on Australian soil.

Only 19, Tendulkar cut, pulled and hooked Australia's quicks to all parts of the ground.

While he still is capable of the spectacular, Tendulkar isn't the force he once was and it's doubtful he would be able to craft such a knock now, aged 35.

He refuses to be specific about how long he would like to play, but the indications are he would like to play the 2011 World Cup to be held in across the subcontinent.

National selection chairman Kris Srikkanth said yesterday he believed Tendulkar could play for another two years, after he passed Brian Lara's run-scoring record on day one of the second Test against Australia.

Tendulkar holds the run-scoring records in Tests and one-day internationals.