Tendulkar best batsman ever, says 84 per cent in Aussie poll

A staggering 84 per cent respondents in the online poll rooted for the Indian batting maestro on a day when he notched up his sixth Test double century against the Aussies in the second and final test in Bengaluru.

The online poll was conducted by 'Sydney Morning Herald' and close to 15,000 people responded to the question "Is Sachin Tendulkar best batsman ever?"

Only 16 per cent of the respondents felt otherwise. The possibility of a lot of Indians voting for 37-year-old Tendulkar is not being ruled out.

Tendulkar became the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to touch 14,000 run mark just two days back.

Australian great Sir Don Bradman, who has an astonishing Test average of 99.99, had said that Tendulkar's style of play reminds him of his own batting days.

The Australian media has already hailed him as the "man of the century" for his sixth Test hundred that helped the hosts restore balance in the Bengaluru Test.

All leading publications showered praise on the ’greatest batsman of all time’ and described the little master as "like the kid who wished it wouldn’t get dark.

"Tendulkar’s resurgence has put an almost insurmountable gap between him and Ponting in the race to be the highest all-time run-getter," the Sydney Morning Herald said.

The Australian daily described Tendulkar as "the one constant in an ever-changing cricket universe, ever present, always scoring. He has been at the crease for 21 years.

"How he haunts the Australians. Last time they were in India, Ricky Ponting’s men watched him score his 13,000th run. In this Test he brought up his 14,000th and at times he seemed to be on his way to 15,000th. God alone knows when he will desist," the paper added.

The 37-year-old played "like the kid who wished it wouldn’t get dark", the paper said. "Tendulkar is exceptional," wrote cricket columnist Peter Roebuck in the same paper. "Every shot he plays is compelling." "India might never know how blessed it has been that its best cricketers of the period were also its most upstanding," he said.

The Age newspaper said: "The Little Master serves up a lesson. If October 10, 2010 was to be Sachin Tendulkar’s day, then the 11th was his honorary parade, one which may roll over the top of the hapless Australians in the second Test.”

"Emphatic doesn’t really come close to justifying Tendulkar’s batting masterclass," the paper added.

The Indian batting icon won the ICC Cricketer of the Year award early this month.
The Mumbaikar is also the highest run getter in One-day cricket with 17,598 runs and is only one to score a double hundred in the 50-over format.