ON THIS DAY IN 2013: It was the end of an era! The greatest, the most celebrated, the most popular, the most worshipped Indian cricketer of all-time, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar bid adieu to international cricket in a teary farewell at his home ground – the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The actual match – the second Test against the West Indies which India wrapped up by an innings within three days was pushed to the background. Tendulkar took centerstage as he always did during his glorious 24 years’ career.
WATCH: Sachin Tendulkar’s Farewell Speech
He scored a brisk 74 in his final innings and retired from the game after scoring 34357 runs from 664 international matches including a sensational 100 hundreds. During the course of this journey, the little master had broken several records and set many unprecedented milestones.
He aggregated 6707 runs in 144 innings at an average of almost 50 against Australia – the best side in the world for a majority of his career. 20 of his 100 hundreds came against them – the maximum against any team.
Tendulkar was unstoppable in 1998 – his greatest year in international cricket! He aggregated 2541 runs in 42 innings at an average of 68.67 including 12 hundreds in the year!
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He scored runs all over the world and had an average of above 50 in Test cricket in both Australia and England. He had the defense and technique of Gavaskar in Test cricket and the destructiveness of a Viv Richards in ODIs – this made Tendulkar stand out amongst his peers.
No one has aggregated more runs than his 673 in 11 matches at a strike rate of 89.25 in South Africa in 2003 in any edition of a World Cup!
Tendulkar gave an emotional speech in front of a very sentimental crowd – a speech which was watched by a billion Indians in India and millions all over the world. He then took a victory lap of the stadium carried on the shoulder of his teammates. He finally paid his respects to the pitch – his home soil, his home turf which played a leading role in transforming the little boy wonder into Sachin Tendulkar – The Legend!
Tendulkar was a complete batsman in every sense of the word. Apart from all the records he set what stood out was his ability to sustain the high standards for over two decades – this makes his achievements extraordinary!
On the 16th of November, 2013, India bid farewell to its favourite son. There never was, is or will be another Sachin Tendulkar!
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