🏏Sachin Tendulkar

📖In detail

He is a batsman who can be placed very close to perfection; it is often said that only Don Bradman can match his greatness, and in terms of records he went far beyond. Besides the most runs and most centuries in both Tests and ODIs, many records stand in his name that seem almost impossible for any batsman to reach.

When international cricket began, no one imagined that a batsman would one day score a hundred international centuries, but Tendulkar, born in Mumbai on 24 April 1973, achieved it against Bangladesh at Mirpur on 16 March 2012. He scored 15,921 runs in 200 Tests and 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs, with 51 Test centuries and 49 ODI centuries.

Balance, movement and a wide range of strokes defined his batting, and the straight drive was his favourite shot. When Shane Warne and other spinners tried bowling on his leg stump, he answered with the paddle sweep. He made his Test debut at just 16 years and 205 days.

At 18 he played a brave innings of 114 on the fast WACA pitch at Perth, which he still counts among his best.

In 2000 he became the first batsman to score 50 international centuries. In 2008 he passed Brian Lara to become the highest run-scorer in Test cricket, the next year he completed 30,000 international runs, and in 2010 he became the first batsman to score 50 Test centuries.

He also became the first man to score a double century in ODIs, with 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010. He played in six World Cups and was part of India's title-winning team in 2011. He retired from international cricket in November 2013 after his 200th Test, and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2014.