On this day in 2013 batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar ended his 24 year old cricketing career after India beat West Indies in his 200th Test match at the iconic Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai. Tendulkar bid adieu in front of a jam-packed crowd,on a day when billions shed tears as the Master Blaster gave his farewell speech.He also touched 22 yards in a thanksgiving gesture and scored a stroke-filled 74 in India’s first innings,his last in international cricket. Sachin Tendulkar retired with 34,357 international runs which include 100 hundreds,most by any player.
Must read : 5 Indian cricketers who were poor before they played for the country
Some Lesser known facts about him-
*Tendulkar holds a unique distinction of scoring a century on debut in Ranji, Irani & Duleep Trophy respectively.
*Tendulkar was the first player to be given out by third umpire in an international game.
*Tendulkar was a ball-boy during the 1987 semi final between India and England.
**On the very same day of retirement,he was awarded Bharat Ratna-highest civilian award given in india.
Although,his debut in 1989 was a fiery introduction to international cricket,when as a 16 yr old he had to face up the might of Wasim Akram, Imran khan and Waqar Younis in their backyard.Since then he has gone on to amass records by a dozen, a few of which are unlikely to be surpassed during his lifetime.He has the most numbers of runs in Test matches and One day internationals .Moreover, he scoed most number of centuries in both formats.More than 30,000 international runs are not likely to be overtaken by anyone,as his list of international centuries.He has become the only man in history to get to 100 international centuries, a mind boggling achievement comparable to Don Bradman’s career avg.of 99.94.He has almost everything as an individual and also been part of innumberable team’s successes, with a World cup win in 2011.
