Tendulkar best in the world says Ganguly

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Sachin Tendulkar is the best cricketer in the world. Having played together for years till he retired from international cricket, Ganguly said: "I haven't seen Sir Donald Bradman playing, but I have seen Sachin. To me, he himself is a milestone, and the best cricketer in the world." The Bengal ace said Tendulkar, who has been bestowed with the the ICC Cricketer of the Year is the role model for many. "He is 37 now and is still going strong. He has proved that performance is the last word in cricket," Ganguly said. The Big Three of Indian cricket - Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman - are difficult to replace, said Ganguly. "After they retire, the gap can be filled in. But it would be difficult to replace them. These players are a class apart," he said. He also praised India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "Dhoni is undoubtedly a very good captain. He has helped Indian cricket grow. But at the same time, we should not forget that there are players like Sachin and Rahul in the team, who are match-winners. Cricket is a team game," Ganguly said.

India vs. Australia 2nd Test Match: Sachin Tendulkar slams 49th test ton

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In the 2nd test match (at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium) of this 3 match test series, India carved a remarkable comeback after the quick losses of Sehwag and Dravid in the earlier part of their innings.

Chasing a mammoth 478 set by the gritty Australians (riding high on a fine century by Marcus North), Indians were tottering at 38/2 when Tendulkar came out at the centre and built up a humongous 312 run partnership with opener Murali Vijay. Tendulkar was ruthless in the morning session bludgeoning two sixes to get to his 49th century.

A tad sluggish and cautious Murali, too, carved a well-fought 100, his maiden test hundred eclipsing his previous best of 87. The two batted throughout the 1st two sessions. However, Murali departed shortly after tea caught behind the wickets for a match-saving 139. Cheteshwar Pujara, who came in the side replacing an injured Laxman, fell instantly at 4, ushering in Suresh Raina.

Tendulkar, meanwhile, is looking set for a double ton, another personal milestone and more importantly, a feat that would be instrumental if India goes on to win this test. With boundaries and sixes coming off his willow at will, Tendulkar has looked venomous today lunching on the kangaroo meat with the appetite of a hungry giant.

Tendulkar hits 14000 runs in test cricket

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Tendulkar had gone into the second Test match against Australia 27 short of the 14k mark. Tendulkar came into bat after Rahul Dravid had been dismissed by Mitchell Johnson and was involved in a 50-run stand.

Tendulkar then hit a couple of boundaries and got to the 27 he required before the end of the second day’s play at Bangalore. Tendulkar got to his 14000th run when he slapped a boundary off Hauritz through the covers.

Tendulkar also has more than 17500 runs in ODI cricket, apart from possessing an average of 56 in Test matches and 45 in ODI cricket. Tendulkar also scored a double century in an ODI, the first and the only batsman to have done so in ODI cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar won the ICC cricketer of the year- video

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Tendulkar fought off stiff competition to take the award from fellow short-list nominees Virender Sehwag of India, Hashim Amla of South Africa and England’s Graeme Swann.

Tendulkar follows in the footsteps of India’s Rahul Dravid (2004), Andrew Flintoff of England and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (joint winners in 2005), Ricky Ponting of Australia (2006 and 2007), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008) and Mitchell Johnson (2009) to take the top award.

“It’s fantastic to win this award, I’m really excited to have won two awards and this last season for the entire team has been really special.

“I think right from the start of the season when won in Sri Lanka and I scored a hundred in the finals and from there on the season took off for us. We became number one in the Test rankings, something we all wanted to achieve and we’ve been able to maintain our performances in the last 10 months.

“To win both of these awards tonight, Cricketer of the Year and the LG People’s Choice Award, is special and it’s the game’s way of appreciating someone’s performance. It feels great to have two trophies in front of me and I am feeling very proud and happy.”

ICC President Sharad Pawar congratulated Tendulkar on his victory: “Sachin Tendulkar has been the focal point of Indian cricket now for some 20 years and over the past year his superb batting and hard work has continued to illustrate his importance in the India team batting line-up. Sachin’s statistics for the last 12 months show how worthy a winner of this accolade he is,” said Mr Pawar.

During the voting period, the 37-year-old from Mumbai played in 10 Test matches, striking 1,064 runs, including six centuries, at an average of 81.84.

Tendulkar also played in 17 ODI matches in the time, smashing his way to 914 runs at an average 65.28 in a period that also included the master batsman’s record-breaking double-century against South Africa in Gwalior.

The right-handed batsman currently sits third in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and is 10th in the ODI rankings.

The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy was one of nine individual prizes given at this year’s LG ICC Awards. Tendulkar also featured in the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year as picked by the independent selection panel.

The panel was chaired by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd and included former Australia batsman Matthew Hayden, former England bowler Angus Fraser, former Zimbabwe player and England coach Duncan Fletcher and former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri.

Based on the period between 24 August 2009 and 10 August 2010, the LG ICC Awards 2010 – presented in association with FICA – take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.

The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its seventh year and this year is being held in Bengaluru. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007 and 2009) and Dubai (2008).