Sachin Tendulkar birthday special: A look at Master Blaster’s incredible journey

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the god of cricket, is the first name that springs to mind when we discuss of the best batters in cricket history. This man was once regarded by Indian cricket fans as a breath of fresh air. For over twenty years, he was a member of the Indian cricket team. Might be that the young generations don't know the legacy of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. When Sachin was batting on the field at one point, the fans simply applauded him, and when he returned to the pavilion, the crowd left. Following Sachin's departure, even the supporters who had watched the game on TV and listened to the radio commentary turned off their individual devices. 

He was born on April 24, 1973, in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra. From childhood, he wanted to become a cricketer. To achieve this dream, his brother (Ajit Tendulkar) helped him a lot. In 1983, when India lifted the Prudential World Cup, Sachin saw a dream to win the World Cup. He did hard work to become a cricketer, and in 1989, he officially made his international debut against the arch-rivals Pakistan. This was a test match. 

Later, in the fourth match of the series, an incident occurred that signalled the arrival of a great batsman in international cricket. In the second innings of the fourth Test played in Sialkot, a sharp bouncer from Waqar struck Sachin on the nose/chin area through the gap in his helmet. He fell down and was bleeding, but refused to leave the field, famously saying, "Main Khelega" (I will play). Despite the injury, Tendulkar continued to bat and scored a courageous 57 runs, helping India save the Test match.

Sachin gradually emerged as a pivotal batsman for India. He was sent out to open the innings, where he unleashed a torrent of runs. First alongside Sourav Ganguly, and later with Virender Sehwag, Sachin forever transformed the landscape of the Indian opening pair. 

Sachin Tendulkar’s international records

He holds the record for scoring the most runs, the most centuries, and the most half-centuries in international cricket. He is the first player in the cricket world to score an ODI double century. He is the inspiration for several indian and overseas cricket legends, including Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson. Despite his retirement for 12 years, today's phenomenal batsman chased his records. Sachin was one of those batsmen who stayed at the crease, and India never lost a match. If we look at the statistics of this legend, we get to know about his aura. 

He has 34357 international runs, including 100 centuries in all formats. The man whose fans travel thousands of miles to see him. It is because of him that modern-day greats like Virat Kohli, world-winning captain MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and many other players started playing cricket.  Apart from this, many players around the world got inspired by this great player. Sachin Tendulkar scored 15921 Test runs, including 51 centuries and 68 fifties. He scored 18426 runs, including 49 centuries and 96 fifties. He also played a T20I match against South Africa, where he scored 10 runs and also took a wicket of Justin Kemp. Even his bowling figures are incredible, where he took 154 ODI wickets, 46 Test wickets and one wicket in T20I. Very few people know, but he was also a great fielder, taking 256 international catches.

Apart from international cricket, Sachin also played 861 domestic matches, including List A and first-class, where he scored 47395 runs. He has 141 centuries and 230 50+ scores in domestic cricket. He also played for the Mumbai Indians in IPL from IPL 2008 to 2013. In IPL, he scored 2334 runs at an average of 34.83 and a strike rate of 119.81. He smashed 1 century and 13 half-centuries. 

Sachin Tendulkar’s ultimate dream 

Sachin had always harboured a dream of winning the ODI World Cup, yet he remained unaware that he would have to wait 22 years to see this dream come true. He did everything to win the World Cup, but he failed in the first 5 World Cups. In the 2003 World Cup, he came so close to winning the World Cup when India reached the WC final, but India lost that final. He scored 673 runs throughout the tournament. In 2007, the Indian team was eliminated early in the World Cup, where India lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage matches. 

At that time, Sachin started thinking about his retirement, but a phone call from Viv Richards changed his life. If Richards had not suggested that he play one more World Cup, Sachin's dream of winning the World Cup would never have been fulfilled. With Richard's suggestion, he played one more World Cup in 2011. India lifted the World Cup in 2011, after a 28-year drought. Sachin Tendulkar was the second leading run scorer, scoring 482 runs, including 2 hundreds and 2 fifties. Due to Sachin's innings, India was able to reach such cricket scores many times, from which India could win the match. In the semifinal, he scored 85 against Pakistan in Mohali. 

On Nov 16,  2013, Sachin played his last international match in Wankhede. After the match, he praised the 22-yard pitch and thanked his teammates and fans. Indian cricket fans were really sad for him. All the fans thanked Sachin for his contribution to Indian cricket. 12 years after his retirement, many records belong solely to his name.