The statistics are simply awesome and speak for themselves. Yet Doubting Thomases keep raising questions about maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s ability to raise his game in finals.

The Mumbaikar silenced his critics, with a clinical ton to pilot India to victory in the Compaq Cup final at Colombo on Monday.

As it is most often said the tough get going when the going gets tough, Tendulkar rose to the occasion as only he can and came up with his 44th ODI century to anchor the Indian innings.

From the first ball he faced, the master was at work, so to say. He was confidence personified and the drives, the hallmark of his batting, were working to perfection. He looked at ease with himself as he went about the task of accumulating runs and piling on Sri Lanka’s misery. He presented a straight bat to every thing hurled at him, which must have delighted his new bat sponsor (adidas) no end.

It was vintage Tendulkar as he added to his ever-growing collection of one-day centuries as he set the platform for a massive total as India bid to set right the losing record in finals in the island nation. In the end, it was good to see a Tendulkar century in a winning cause. So often, he has come in for criticism for failing to score big in crunch games.  

The memorable ton at Chennai in late 2008 against England in the fourth innings was one of those knocks which went a long way in silencing nitpickers. The numbers that the master blaster has stacked up are amazing.

Apart from the heap of runs, he has stacked up 59 MoM awards, eight in finals and 14 player-of-the-series prizes. He is way ahead of others on both counts. Also, he leads the list of run-getters in finals, which has him overshadowing sub-continental rival Sanath Jayasuriya and present Indian coach Gary Kirsten.

Like wine, Tendulkar seems to be getting better with age. He is the senior statesman in the Indian team now and his experience is invaluable and came to the fore in a key clash.

He described the century yesterday as one of his best knocks, keeping in mind the pitch conditions and humidity. It was a masterly display by the master, which goes to show that age is just a number (as he would say later).

Tendulkar will head to the Champions Trophy in South Africa with confidence as India will look to lay their hands on a cup that has eluded them for long. Also, the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent doesn’t look too distant for the country’s most popular and revered cricketer.