Another Milestone by Sachin Tendulkar

Records are created only to be broken, but the milestones stand the test of time.


Since Kerry Packer introduced One day Cricket in a competition called World Series Cricket in 1977, no one had scored a double century in a limited over match, not until today. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar scored 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior Feb. 24.


Sachin had been called the “best batsman of all time.” I am not hung up on the “best batsman of all time” label so much, because that definitely is arguable. If batsmen are measured for their scores I doubt if anyone would even come close to the famous Aussie, Sir Donald Bradman, who had a test average of 99.94 runs. Australian captain Bill Woodfull termed Bradman, “worth three batsmen to Australia.”

Sir Jon Berry Hobbs (popularly known as Jack Hobbs), the gentle Englishman would be another contender for the same title for his sheer ability to play in any pitches against any bowlers and his record runs and centuries in first class matches, which are yet to be surpassed.


Tendulkar deserves credit for his sheer tenacity. A few years back he had hit a bad patch, and many people were calling for his skull. He had to overcome nagging injuries and even make adjustments to his batting techniques to make a comeback. On March 19, 2006, Tendulkar was booed off his own home ground by the spectators when he was out scoring only one run off 21 balls against England in a Test match. This was the time when he was virtually written off. Tendulker himself never had any doubt, always displaying sheer determination and persistence. It is a story of triumph of one man over all adversities scaling ever newer heights against the odds of time. Today, he owns most records for batting at the top level of the game.