An entire set of generations grew up admiring Sachin and his style. When Sachin batted, the entire nation wanted to be glued to the television.
People relate to Sachin in more ways than one. He is a hero in multiple dimensions, a feat which athletes may not always achieve.
Sachin's fan following does not span in India alone. All across the world, Sachin is seen as larger than life. He is the name which can give jitters to the opposition, even while they take time to admire the game.
While Sachin retired, he was a part of life for every cricket fan. One could not imagine a cricket game without him. Many of Sachin's fans were born while Sachin was in the team. His career lasted for staggering 23 years. That's a reasonably long time for playing at the top level, while being a top batsman.
Let's run through some exciting facts about Sachin's cricketing career.
It is hard to believe that Sachin Tendulkar made his career debut way back in 1989. It was also the year when Anil Kumble made his debut. The two went on to become the hottest players in the squad and win many games for India.
Sachin was just 16 years of age when he made his test debut. Only three players in the world have made a debut at a younger age.
Sachin took reasonably long to make his first ODI century. It took him 78 matches to get started. He got 110 vs Australia in the Singer World Series. This was in R.Premadasa stadium in Colombo, on 9th September, 1994.
However this was just the beginning, and set the wheels in motion for many more to come. Sachin's career stats would take anyone by surprise. These are beyond comprehension and very hard for a batsman to achieve.
Sachin has gone on to score 49 centuries in the ODI format of the game. This includes a lightning fast double century, which is a rare feat to achieve.
Sachin has nearly 18,500 runs in the ODI format, and has played 463 matches to achieve the same.
Another interesting stat in Sachin's career graph is that he has scored 96 half centuries. With his 51 test centuries, he is the only player in the world to have scored 100 centuries in ODI and test cricket combined.
In Sachin's own words
Before you lay a foundation on the cricket field, there should be a solid foundation in your heart and you start building on that. After that as you start playing more and more matches, you learn how to score runs and how to take wickets.
The crowning glory for Sachin's career was winning the World Cup for India. He was a part of the World Cup winning squad in 2011, and this is a dream come true for any player!
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