Tendulkar Fulfills Destiny by Scoring 50th Test Century

India's batting legend Sachin Tendulkar
scored his landmark 50th Test hundred today, 19th day of December 2010, against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, SA. He created history by becoming the first cricketer in the world to score 50 tons in the longer version of the game.

Milestones have become so routine in Sachin Tendulkar’s career that it hardly came as a surprise when he touched another one by becoming the first batsman in cricket’s history to notch up an astonishing 50 Test hundreds.

The 37-year-old Little Master, who has spent a remarkable over 20 years in international cricket, has perhaps every batting record that is there to be taken under his belt and adding to the countless tally is the historic hundred that he struck against South Africa in the ongoing opening Test here.

It’s the fourth major milestone this year for Tendulkar at the stage of his career when batsmen typically decline. Tendulkar is also the only batsman in the world who has scored a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved in Gwalior against South Africa in February. This feat was included in Time magazine’s top 10 sports moments of the year. Six months later he played in a record 169th Test. He reached an unprecedented 14,000 Test runs in October.

Mumbai-born Master Blaster Tendulkar, who made his debut against India’s archrival Pakistan as a 16-year-old, also has the most runs (17,598) and hundreds (46) in one-day internationals.

Tendulkar’s colossal batting exploits have completely overshadowed his utility as a part-time bowler who reveled in breakthroughs. He was a complete enigma with the ball, sending down military medium pace, orthodox leg-break and off-spin with the guiles that often caught batsmen off their guard.

His 44 Test wickets and 154 scalps in ODIs underline the fact that Tendulkar could have also staked claim to be that elusive all-rounder that India has been desperately looking for since the legendary Kapil Dev. But shoulder problems have not allowed him to bowl as much as he and the team would have liked.

In the field, he is among the safest pair of hands in the slip and his flat throw releasing strong arm saw him manning the deep with equal aplomb.

"It's just another number but it's nice," said Tendulkar. "Every innings, I want to go out and score runs." He is test cricket's leading run-scorer with 14,509 in 175 matches, and the most prolific century-maker. Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in Test cricket in 2010 with 1,539 at an average of 85.50, including seven centuries and five fifties.


Here are Twitter reactions from some of cricket greats ...

Sanjay Manjrekar: "He has got it finally! and judging from his reaction..meant a lot to him...the 50th test ton..this is one record that is there to stay."

Harsha Bhogle: "All great players redefine their profession.50 Test hundreds was considered unthinkable. Sachin has done it."

Yuvraj Singh: "Greatest achievement by a bats man ever! His name is sachinnnnnnn tendulkarrrrrrrrrr!! Wooohooooooooo."

Iain O'Brien: "Congrats you little massive legend!"

Big B, Amitabh Bachchan, showered praise on his blog ...
This is an unbelievable landmark in the history of the game. There is no doubt that this record will perhaps remain for eternity. No other cricketer is any where near this phenomenal achievement and shall perhaps never be.

The media, the lovers of the game, friends well wishers and his own countrymen have run out of adjectives to describe this feat. This is sheer genius and nothing less. You are the pride of the nation and shall ever be so.

The biggest compliment to the batting maestro came from Sir Donald Bradman himself in 1999 when he said that Tendulkar’s style of playing resembled his style. “That touch I used to feel when I batted,” he had said.



Watch history unfold:


Sachin Tendulkar 50 Test Centuries:



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