'Bradman and Tendulkar are two of the greatest'

 Sachin Tendulkar's impending retirement from Test cricket evoked unreserved admiration for the batting icon from the Australian media which described him the "deity of cricket" and one of the history's two greatest batsmen along with Don Bradman.

With the headline 'Tendulkar departs as a deity of cricket', 'Sydney Morning Herald' said that the Indian batsman combined brilliance with incredible longevity and none of his contemporaries commanded god-like status like he did.

"A batting genius who has played the game for almost a quarter of a century, he combined brilliance with incredible longevity. He outlasted fellow greats such as West Indies champion Brian Lara, Australian legend Ricky Ponting and Indian teammate Rahul Dravid, and inspired a new generation of players who wanted to be like him," the newspaper said.

"The others were all champions, and South Africa's relentless all-rounder Jacques Kallis is still going, but none of his contemporaries commanded Tendulkar's god-like status, which coincided with India's rise as a cricket superpower," it said.

There were several write-ups, columns and video footages of the past which had comments made by experts and former players over the years during Tendulkar's long career of 24 glorious years, all leading to one conclusion that he is the number one contemporary batsman, equal in greatness only to Bradman in the history of the game.

'Daily Telegraph' said it's now accepted by the cricketing world that Tendulkar and Bradman are the greatest batsmen in the history of the game.

"The cricketing cognoscenti are largely united when it comes to naming history's two greatest batsmen: Sir Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. But as for identifying the greatest of the pair? That remains one of the game's most polarising debates," the newspaper said.