The 37-year-old champion batsman, who holds almost every batting record, overtook retired former Australian captain Steve Waugh with whom he was tied at 168 matches after the second Test at SSC. Tendulkar, who has been around for two decades now, has also played 442 one-day internationals, just a couple of matches less than Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of 444.
Tendulkar has scored 13,742 runs in 168 Tests at an average of 56.08, notching up 48 hundreds and 55 half-centuries in the process.
He has 17,598 runs, including 46 centuries, in his 442 one-dayers. The Mumbaikar also holds the distinction of being the first batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs.
But despite these astonishing feats, Tendulkar remains hungry for more runs and after getting his fifth Test double hundred in the second Test against Sri Lanka, the diminutive batsman urged critics to stop talking about his age.
Tendulkar’s two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as Captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying
“Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!”,
which translates into: “He won’t win! It’s not in the small one’s destiny!”.
Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions.
Tendulkar, however, was at his usual best and won the player of the tournament award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.
Individual honours and appreciations:
* Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, 2008.
* ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007
* Rajiv Gandhi Awards – Sports: 2005
* Player of the tournament in 2003 Cricket World Cup
* Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra State’s highest Civilian Award in 2001
* Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, 1999
* Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997–98.
* Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1997
* Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in Cricket, 1994.
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