Record books of the last 20 years are replete with the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the world's most-revered cricketer. A right-handed attacking batsman, right arm spin / swing bowler and excellent fielder, he has stamped his name on most of the major cricketing records in batting. This includes most runs in international cricket and most centuries in Tests and ODIs! He also has an incredible ODI double century to his credit.

Sachin was born on 24 April 1973 in Bombay (now Mumbai) and named after Sachin Dev Burman, the great music composer of yesteryears. He honed his genius under the able guidance of cricketing coach Ramakant Achrekar.

Sachin made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi in 1989-90 when he was only 16 years of age. The lad was hit on the nose by a Waqar Younis bouncer but he refused medical help and continued to play in a blood-soaked shirt. This dedication continued even after two decades of playing international cricket.

He has played 200 Tests, scoring over 15,900 runs at an average of around 53, including 51 hundreds, 68 fifties and a highest score of 248. He has also captured 46 wickets. Sachin has also played 463 one-day matches, scoring 18,426 runs with a highest score of 200. He has scored 49 one-day hundreds and 96 fifties, besides capturing 154 wickets.

Cricketing greats are full of praise for him. Australian leg spinner Shane Warne rated him as the greatest batsman and the most difficult to beat! But probably the greatest compliment came from the greatest of them all — Sir Donald Bradman! He is supposed to have asked his wife to watch Sachin's game as it reminded him of his own!

"Sachin has three strokes for every delivery," say bowlers who have been mauled by him. His cover drive and the bowler's back drive, punched and timed to a nicety with a heavy bat, are breathtaking to watch. The lofted six over long on is his trademark shot. Sachin enjoys bowling his wobbly-dobbly swingers and mixing them up with his disguised leggies, googlies and off breaks.

When India won its second World Cup in 2011 after 28 years, the happiest was Sachin—it was his lifelong dream to win the Cup. Sachin’s teammates—many of whom took to cricket watching him play—greatly valued his contribution to their careers. The Indian team wholeheartedly dedicated the World Cup victory to Sachin!

The last time legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar walked to the crease to bat for India was on 15 November 2013. It was the Master Blaster's 200th Test match, held at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He scored 74 runs even as India handed out an innings defeat to West Indies in a one-sided contest.

The Master Blaster's achievements are indeed extraordinary as he bolstered the hopes of a billion cricket crazy people for nearly 25 years!