Little Master Tendulkar walks tall -"SACHIN RECORD"

India's Sachin Tendulkar moved past Brian Lara's world batting record for most Test runs on Friday, accumulating another record in a long career that has been earmarked for greatness since he made his debut at 16.

The 35-year-old, who has already secured his place among the pantheon of all-time great batsmen, achieved the landmark on the first day of the second Test against Australia.

Tendulkar needed 15 runs to surpass the retired West Indian's mark of 11,953 runs after narrowly missing the record while helping salvage a draw in the first Test. He reached 16 shortly after tea to break the record.

The veteran batsman fell for a magnificent 88 during which he also scaled the 12,000-run mark in Test cricket.

He already holds the records for most Test hundreds (39), one-day runs (16,361) and centuries (42) and is the third-most capped Test player (152) behind Australia's Steve Waugh (168) and Allan Border (156).

Once described by Australia's Don Bradman as having a similar batting style as his own, Tendulkar has lived up to that expectation since his international debut in 1989.

Emulating compatriot Sunil Gavaskar as Test cricket's highest run scorer, however, should also help send a gentle reminder to fickle Indian fans he still has plenty to offer the team.

Frenzied speculation in the cricket-mad country has surrounded Tendulkar as to whether he, along with other veterans, should keep their places or retire and allow a new generation in.












Tendulkar made his debut in Karachi in November 1989, and batting at number six made just 15 before he was bowled by Waqar Younis.

Since then, he has been the mainstay of the Indian batting lineup and had to carry the weight of expectations alone in the 1990s until Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag established themselves.

Tendulkar's fearless assault on bowlers won him a legion of admirers, with his personal duels against major bowling rivals, the best coming against Australian leg spinner Shane Warne, enlivening the action.

The diminutive player has been more than just runs, bowling clever spin, running hard between wickets for partners and being a good advertisement for the game in its global commercial hub.

The Mumbai batsman has suffered a series of injuries since a major back problem flared up in 1999, largely attributed to the wear and tear of constant play since he was a teenager.

Some critics have also recently questioned the disappearance of his natural flair and compared it unfavourably to Lara's sustained batting throughout his career until his retirement in 2007, a criticism Tendulkar has not taken too kindly.

He had two unsuccessful stints as captain, sacked after the first term in 1996, before giving it up four years later saying it affected his batting.