Sachin Tendulkar begins winding down an extraordinary career

Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from one-day internationals on Sunday signaled the winding-down of an extraordinary career which has established him as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and with an almost mythic status in an Indian nation besotted with the game.

Blessed with a prodigious talent, Tendulkar made his Test debut at the age of 16 and went on to set a series of international batting records — earning him the inevitable comparisons with fellow greats Don Bradman and Brian Lara in the process.

His retirement from one-dayers and likely near-term retirement from Tests had become equally inevitable, though, after former teammates Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman called it a day, and made way for India's younger cricketers.

With Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble already out of the picture, Tendulkar's gradual departure marks the end of a golden generation that helped India to excel both at home and abroad.

The Mumbai batsman's superb technique, variety of strokes and adaptability brought him no fewer than four prestigious records — most runs in Tests (15,643) and one-day internationals (18,426), along with the most centuries in Tests (51) and one-day internationals (49).

In addition to the personal records, the man they call the Little Master also helped India to win the World Cup on home soil in 2011 and become the world's top-ranked Test nation.

No stranger to the spotlight, Tendulkar started to make a name for himself in his mid-teens, when he scored 326 in a colossal 664-run stand with Vinod Kambli in a schools tournament.

Tendulkar later cracked centuries on his debut in all three of India's top domestic tournaments — the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup. Though he was unable to repeat those feats on his international debuts, he went on to establish himself as a dependable No. 4 batsman in the Test team and an aggressive opener for one-day matches.

He was handed a Test debut in 1989 against a strong Pakistan side, only to be struck on the mouth by rookie pace bowler Waqar Younis. Tendulkar bled, but batted on to make his mark on the series.

He quickly grew in stature in his early years as he tackled top bowlers like Wasim Akram, Allan Donald and Courtney Walsh with ease.

That his most memorable performances came against the era's best team — Australia — and his most remembered rivalries with that team's best bowlers — Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath — are a testimony to his abilities.

Tendulkar's 114 on a fiery Test pitch at Perth in 1991-92 when he was still in his teens, a 155 not out in the Chennai Test of 1997-98 and a host of outstanding one-day performances, including in the Coca-Cola Cup at Sharjah (1997-98) and the CB series Down Under (2007-08), made him a marked man for the Australians — along with Laxman.

His performances in Australia in the first half of his career even drew praise from the reclusive Bradman, whose astonishing Test batting average of 99.94 remains the only major cricketing peak that Tendulkar failed to scale.

"Having seen Tendulkar on the television, I was very, very struck by his technique," Bradman said.

"I asked my wife to have a look at him because I said, I never saw myself play but I feel that this fella is playing much the same as I used to play, by looking at him. She had a look at the television and said 'yes, there is a similarity between the two'. I can't explain it — his compactness, stroke-production technique, it all seems to gel."

Tendulkar performed well in the Mohammad Azharuddin era of the 1990s, though India often fell short despite some stellar displays from him.

The team's fortunes changed, however, under Ganguly. A combination of the talent of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, with the proven experience of Dravid, Laxman and Kumble, all helped to turn Tendulkar's efforts into match-winning ones over the following decade.
Acclaimed for his execution of the cover and straight drives early on, Tendulkar also showed his innovative side by mastering the paddle-sweep in later years.

Tendulkar also excelled against other top sides like South Africa, England and Pakistan. Then, just when many believed his firepower was waning, he became the first batsman to score a double-century in one-day cricket with 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010.

One year later, Tendulkar's record sixth World Cup appearance culminated in a triumph on his home ground — Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Pictures of him being lifted by teammates during a victory lap will remain etched in the memories of his fans around the world.

"Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy," Tendulkar was to say later.

He scored the highest number of runs by a batsman in two World Cups — 673 in 2003, when India made the final, and 523 in 1996 when it reached the semifinals. In the victorious 2011 tournament, he was the second-highest scorer with 482, just behind Sri Lanka's Tillekaratne Dilshan (500).

His absence had been felt in the 1999 World Cup when India failed to advance from the Super Eights, losing a crucial game to Zimbabwe after Tendulkar had returned home on the death of his father. He subsequently returned to the tournament and struck a century against Kenya, but India failed to reach the knockout stages.

Tendulkar played in India's first Twenty20 international against South Africa in 2007 before asking not to be considered for the format, although he went on to spend five seasons with the Mumbai Indians in the lucrative Twenty20 Indian Premier League.

Time seemed to finally be catching up with Tendulkar as the big scores proved elusive after his country's World Cup triumph.
The one bright spot came with a return to one-day cricket for the Asia Cup in 2012, when his 114 against Bangladesh completed an unprecedented century of international centuries.

Dravid, who lived in Tendulkar's shadow even though many considered him to be the better Test batsman, spoke in late 2012 of his time at the crease with his illustrious teammate.

"We have scored 6,900 runs together ... and I can proudly tell my grandchildren that I batted with Sachin," Dravid said. "They may not remember me, but they will certainly remember Sachin."

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