Tendulkar still hungry for more

“When you have got such a big screen, you can’t miss such facts. Whether I wanted to know or not, I had no choice,” said the master after bringing up his sixth double ton on the fourth day of the second Test.

Irrespective of which way this Test goes, this game will be remembered for Tendulkar’s exploits with the bat. The right-hander, who batted for just over nine hours spread over three days, became the first player to reach 14,000 Test runs, notched up a record 49th ton and equalled India’s record of six Test double centuries held by Virender Sehwag.
Tendulkar has been in prolific form this year, having already completed a thousand calendar runs.

“Honestly, I have not done anything differently,” he noted when asked what he has done differently to achieve such peak. “It’s exactly been the same. Possibly, I am hitting more balls now. Gary (Kirsten) has helped me; he throws millions of balls not just at me but the whole team.

“The bowling machine and Gary are competing about who gets tired, and he doesn’t seem to get tired! He has been instrumental (in my resurgence). Obviously, when the team is doing well, everything is going well for you and you try and get better each day. That’s what I have been trying to do. I want to get better and do something special,” he explained.

Crediting the support staff for his fitness, Tendulkar said he was well aware of his responsibilities as a player. “Every player is a student of the game. You remain a student life-long and you learn and see different things. I just want to worry about how I contribute. I’ve always tried my best and I will not compromise on that,” he elaborated.
India were cruising along when Tendulkar was at the crease, but his dismissal saw India lose their next four wickets for just nine runs.

“We are disappointed to lose five wickets in the span of 45 to 50 runs in the morning, but such is the game,” he pointed out. But the Mumbaikar was happy with the bowlers’ performance. “I think we have come back very well. It’s going to be a big day for us tomorrow. The Test is at a critical stage. It’s all about how we deal with pressure and apply ourselves,” he reasoned.

“It’s exciting,” Tendulkar said of the fluctuating fortunes in this series. “We know that if our opposition has scored 470 and it is there on the board, you have to chase it to stay in the game and then at one stage also on top of the game. These challenges are something we all look forward to, we don’t want to take anything for granted. It’s going to be exciting and that’s all I can say. It’s going to be a wonderful day,” he remarked.

 Sachin’s double tons of delight

248* vs Bangladesh in Dhaka (Dec, 2004).
 241* vs Australia in Sydney (Jan, 2004).
 217 vs New Zealand in Ahmedabad (Oct, 1999).
 214 vs Australia in Bangalore (Oct, 2010).
 203 vs Sri Lanka in Colombo, SSC (Jul, 2010).
 201* vs Zimbabwe in Nagpur (Nov, 2000).