Sachin Tendulkar breaks 17,000-run barrier

Having smashed a number of records in his awe-inspiring career, Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday became the first player in the history of the game to cross the 17,000 run mark.

Tendulkar was chasing the milestone from the onset of the series against Australia and achieved the feat when he, requiring seven runs coming into today’s match, played an on-drive to fetch three runs off pacer Ben Hilfenhaus.

The 35,000 strong packed crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium erupted to joy when Tendulkar reached the magic figure in company of opening partner Virender Sehwag.

Tendulkar reached his new ODI milestone in his 435th match and 66th tie against the World Cup holders.

Veteran Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya is second on the list with 13, 377 runs while Australian captain Ricky Ponting has a lot of catching to do with 12,241 runs under his belt.

The diminutive Mumbaikar, who made his ODI debut Pakistan in 1989, is already way ahead of his contemporaries when it comes to accumulating runs.

Rated as the world’s best batsman after Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman, Tendulkar has an awe-inspiring Test record.

In the whopping 159 matches that he has played, Tendulkar has scored 12,773 runs at an average of 54.58.

Courtesy: India Today