Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who made a name for himself as possibly the greatest batter in cricket’s history with his unmatched consistency, longevity, hunger for runs and audacity to take on some of the world’s very best teams and bowlers, turned 52 on Thursday.
Tendulkar is a name known in households not only in India, but across all major cricketing nations in this world. It would not be wrong to say that the sport owes a lot to the ‘Master Blaster’ for the sheer popularity, competitiveness and money power it currently enjoys. Many of the world’s current great batters and leaders, such as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, etc, owe their strokeplay, passion for the game and match-winning abilities to the master himself.
The Maharashtra-born player made his Test debut on November 15, 1989, at the age of 16. In the same year, on December 18, he also got his maiden ODI cap. Over the years, with his astonishing range of strokes, which he kept re-inventing, upgrading, and polishing owing to injuries, team situations, age, conditions, etc., Tendulkar accumulated a massive 34,357 runs in 664 international appearances at an average of 48.52.
Sachin is the highest run-scorer in international cricket. He has scored 100 centuries and 164 half-centuries, the most in international cricket. He stands alone at the top with a century of centuries.
The once-child prodigy went on to become the undisputed greatest batter in Tests, amassing 15,921 runs in 200 matches at a batting average of 53.78 that many greats would envy, against bowling attacks and conditions that rattled some highly talented stars. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, the most by any player.
With 18,426 runs in ODIs at an average of 44.83 in 463 matches, 49 centuries and 96 half-centuries, Tendulkar evolved from a middle-order batter to being the greatest ODI batter and opener ever. Though he was surpassed by Virat Kohli for the record of