Praise pours in from players, media for 'greatest batsman of all time'
"Tendulkar underlined his sensational class with a double century in Gwalior. To have reached such a landmark, with a single in the final over, only serves to underline his class and add to the legacy that already surrounds arguably the finest batsman to have played the game," BBC Sports said.
"His innings, the 46th one-day century of his career, was typified by wristy strokes, trademark boundary shots and, above all, stamina as he batted through the entire innings," the report read.
| "My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One." - Former England captain Nasser Hussain |
Meanwhile, The Times tried to anticipate whether the Indian can complete a century of centuries in international cricket by the end of this year.
"All kneel down and praise whatever god you fancy for the mighty Sachin Tendulkar. This could just be turning into the greatest year of his international career, more than 20 years after it began," the report said.
"Tendulkar now has 93 hundreds in international cricket - 47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs - which is 25 more than the next best man, Ricky Ponting. At the age of 36 and in such great form, he could reach 100 hundreds by the end of the year," it added.
Tendulkar yesterday became the first batsman in the four-decade history of ODI to hammer a double ton as his 200 not out helped India pile up a mammoth 401 for three against South Africa and beat the visitors by 153 runs in the second one-dayer.
Daily Mail also termed the innings as "sensational" in their report.
"Sensational Sachin Tendulkar smashes world record one-day innings and first ever double hundred for India," the headline goes.
In another report, Guardian opined that the stormy knock has hit hard the notion that form of Tendulkar is on the wane.
"The blazing innings comes 10 months after his 36th birthday and four years after he was booed off his home ground in Mumbai, with his career apparently in terminal decline.
"Somewhat improbably given today's innings, the abuse had been for slow scoring," the daily said.
It was not only Tendulkar's 46th ODI century but also the highest score in one-dayers, eclipsing the previous record of 194 which was held jointly by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Conventry.
Kallis praises Tendulkar
Gwalior: South African skipper Jacques Kallis heaped praise on Sachin Tendulkar for his historic double ton and said the way the champion batsman paced his innings it showed one need not be a slogger to do well in one-day cricket.
"He is a classic batsman. He played authentic shots and showed you do not need to slog to play well in One-dayers," Kallis said.
Dejection written all over his face, Kallis rued his team did not play according to the plan and asked the guys to pull up their socks before the 2011 World Cup.
"It was a small field and we lost wickets in a hurry. We could not execute our plans. We need to do a lot of work ahead of the World Cup," he added.
Tendulkar better than even Bradman: Nasser Hussain
London: Former England captain Nasser Hussain is convinced that Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, better than even the iconic Don Bradman.
"I have never liked comparisons between great players, but after Wednesday's incredible game it must be said — Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time," Hussain wrote in his column for 'The Daily Mail'.
Tendulkar became the first batsman to crack a double century in the four-decade-long history of one day cricket against South Africa yesterday and Hussain felt that should settle the debate on who is the greatest batsman ever.
"Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself," wrote the Chennai-born English cricketer of Indian origin.
Hussain said Tendulkar has somehow managed to retain his early enthusiasm even after two decades of international cricket which he found incredible.
"I played against Tendulkar on my first England tour, the Nehru Cup in India in 1989, and I could still see that excited boy in big pads in Gwalior," said Hussain, who once resorted to negative tactics and asked spinner Ashley Giles to bowl way outside off-stumps to curb the Indian," he said.
"That extraordinary drive and enthusiasm are what make Tendulkar so special. He has been playing international cricket for 20 years under the intense scrutiny being an Indian superstar brings, so it is remarkable he still loves holding a bat as much as ever," Hussain said.
Looking at Tendulkar's illustrious career, Hussain said guiding the Indian team to 2011 World Cup victory with his broad bat would perhaps give a sense of fulfilment.
"What else is left for Tendulkar now? Well, it is sometimes said that he has not played enough match-winning innings on the really big occasion for India.
"What better, then, than to score a hundred in the World Cup final against Australia — or maybe even England — on home soil this time next year," he said.
"That would be the full stop that would enable Tendulkar to ride off into the sunset with everything achieved in his career," said the Englishman.
Doffing his hat to Tendulkar and referring to maverick soccer coach Jose Maurinho's famous moniker, Hussain said, "My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One."
Tendulkar greatest batsman I have seen: Clarke
Wellington: Australia's Twenty20 captain Michael Clarke rates Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman he has ever seen and said he is not really surprised to see the iconic Indian smashing the first double century in the history of one-day cricket.
"His record speaks for itself. I can't say I'm surprised," said Clarke, who is here for Australian team's tour of New Zealand.
"He's probably the greatest batsman I've ever seen play, live," Clarke was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
Tendulkar's unbeaten 200 at Gwalior was a batting master class that flattened South Africa and India won by 153 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
"I didn't watch any of it but I'd like to get back this afternoon and see some highlights," said Clarke, ahead of Australia's first Twenty20 match against New Zealand.
Clarke was particularly impressed with Tendulkar's longevity and said cricket was blessed to have such a genius.
"He's a wonderful guy and someone I not only enjoy watching on TV, but I've loved having the opportunity to play against him as well," said Clarke.
"He has got so much class. His greatest strength is the longevity, to be able to be so successful at a young age and to still be doing the same thing 20 years on.
"He made his (Test) debut at 16 and he's still as good as ever, if not better. We're blessed to still have such a great player playing this game," he added.