Tendulkar feels that Compaq Cup century was his best

Sachin Tendulkar has said that the century he hit against Sri Lanka in the finals of the Compaq Cup tri-series was one of the best ever in his career in the fifty overs format. Tendulkar scored 138 in 133 balls to propel the Indians to a resounding win against Sri Lanka. It helped India to get to 319/5 in the fifty overs, and the hosts were restricted to 46 runs short of the target.

Given the conditions in Colombo, and on the field, it was very evident where Sachin Tendulkar was coming from. There was very high humidity and heat around, and the perspiration and cramps seemed to have got better of the maestro, but he did well to rally around and bat till almost the very end to lead the Indians to the aforementioned total.

He said, "This is one of my best innings. I will rate this up considering the conditions and the ground, the humidity."

Tendulkar won another man of the match award in the process, his 59th of the career. It also help him win a man of the series award - something that was expected if India would go on to win the tournament.

Tendulkar also took a dig at those experts who believe that age should be the sole criteria to judge a person's presence in the side. Tendulkar is 36, and is in the 20th year of his career, after having begun playing cricket in November, 1989 against Pakistan. He said, "I think, more than age what really matters is how much you are able to give to the game". Sanath Jayasuriya is the other 40-year old in the game, who smashed a 98 in the previous league match against India and scored 36 in the finals and gave the Lankans a good start before getting out.

An excited Mahendra Singh Dhoni also said that despite the victory, the Indians will have to learn from the mistakes they made in the tournament. The fielding was clearly below-par and there were catches and run-out chances missed. Virat Kohli missed a sitter from Jayasuriya earlier on, and then Yusuf Pathan dropped a Kandamby catch at the most crucial of times to let the Lankans loose. Dhoni himself was a culprit once, having missed a simple run-out chance of Kandamby. India's next tournament is the Champions Trophy, where they will face Australia, Pakistan and a second string West Indian side in their group.

Sachin Tendulkar my favourite batsman: Warne

Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne has named master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar as his all-time favourite batsman. Speaking at a function, Warne, joined by South African captain Graeme Smith and other members of the team, took to the podium to field questions from the floor and share their experiences so far in the Indian Premier League (IPL) series being played out across South Africa until May 25.

"Over all the years there have been a lot of wonderful batsmen, so it is pretty hard to pick between Brian Lara and Sachin T endulkar," Warne said in reply to a question about his favourite batsman.

"But I think given the way Sachin handles everything and the expectations that he carries every single time that he walks out to bat, and the way he handles bad decisions and the way he just carries himself; I would have to say Sachin Tendulkar was the best batsman that I have played with in my 20 years of playing international cricket. My biggest bunny, I suppose, would have to be (South African) Darryl Cullinan," he added.

"I was once asked who I would like to bowl to for a living. I said I would be a very rich man if I was to bowl to (Cullinan)."

I am not playing cricket to prove anything: Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday said he is not playing cricket to prove anything to anybody but because of the sheer love of the game and he is still enjoying the game.

"I have not started playing cricket to prove anything to anybody and I don't think even Rahul (Dravid) or any other does that. We started playing because of the love of the game and while doing that at times we perform and at times we don't," Tendulkar said.

"People say you should do this and that but the important thing is the enjoyment and your contribution to the team. It need not be about big runs or wickets, even making a small contribution to the team it matters. It's all about contribution and satisfaction," he added.

Tendulkar, who holds the record of scoring most runs in both Tests (12,773) and ODIs (16,684), said for him it's not about statistic but enjoyment and satisfaction.

There's a long way to go: Sachin Tendulkar

They might have made a resounding start to their IPL campaign with a convincing win over last year's runners-up Chennai Super Kings, but Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar is not ready to take things for granted and wants to build on the good start.

Tendulkar, who scored an unbeaten 59 to script his team's victory in the opening match of the second edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza, said, "The start is good but it is still a long way to go. I won't take anything for granted."

Tendulkar, who was adjudged Man of the Match, said the initial overs were difficult for batting and lavished praise on Sanath Jayasuriya and Abhishek Nayar for adjusting well.

"When I lost the toss, I realised there was a dampness in the wicket. The first 6-7 overs were difficult and later on Abhishek Nayar came and played a terrific innings and my job basically was to just be there and play till the end and guys on the other end played their strokes," he said.

On being asked what could be a decent total on the South African wickets, Tendulkar said anything around 150 would make a good fight.

"Looking at about 145-150 would be a decent total. Don't look at 180 plus but if you can get into 150-160 then it could be a good total," he said.

Tendulkar's Tussauds waxwork unveiled

Sachin Tendulkar on Monday came face to face with himself, as a new waxwork figure of the Indian cricket legend was unveiled in his home city of Mumbai after demand from the public. The figure has been made to go on show at London's Madame Tussauds museum and is the first of an Indian sportsman at the world famous waxwork attraction.
It shows Tendulkar, 35, in a familiar pose -- in full whites of the India team, batting pads, arm guard and gloves, holding his bat and helmet aloft in celebration. "This was the way I celebrated when I passed the record," he told a news conference, referring to the moment last October when he broke Brian Lara's record for the most runs in Test cricket. "I saw the picture and it was a special moment, a very dear one to me."

Tendulkar, nicknamed the "Little Master" or "Master Blaster," described being immortalised in wax as a "great honour." "It's fantastic, fabulous," he added. Liz Edwards, from Madame Tussauds, said it was the first time one of its wax figures had been launched outside London and had been designed to coincide with the start of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament this weekend.

Tendulkar captains the Mumbai Indians in the competition, which has been moved to South Africa because of a clash with India's general election. "Guests vote for wax figures to come in. Sachin's name was constantly coming up and we were delighted to work with him," said Edwards.