Sachin Tendulkar: India's God of Cricket — 100 International Centuries, 15,921 Test Runs

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born on 24 April 1973 in Dadar, Mumbai. He made his Test debut for India against Pakistan at Karachi on 15 November 1989 — at 16 years and 205 days, the youngest Indian Test debutant at the time. In his debut Test he was struck on the nose by a Waqar Younis bouncer, bled, refused to retire hurt, and continued batting — a piece of folklore that established his character early. He was the first Indian to score a Test century in South Africa, England, Australia, and the West Indies — the hardest four overseas Test venues.

All-Time Records: 100 Centuries and 34,000+ International Runs

Sachin Tendulkar holds the all-time records in international cricket: 15,921 Test runs at 53.78 with 51 Test centuries — both all-time records; 18,426 ODI runs at 44.83 with 49 ODI centuries — also both all-time records. His combined international total of over 34,000 runs and 100 centuries are records that may never be approached. He was named Player of the Tournament at the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup (673 runs at 61.18). He was ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2010. He was part of India's 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup-winning team — in his final major ICC tournament. He retired from Test cricket in November 2013 after 200 Tests.

Sharjah and Cultural Impact

Tendulkar's 143 against Australia in the Sharjah final in 1998 — played in a sandstorm, against Shane Warne and the best Australian attack of the era — is considered one of the defining innings in cricket history. It won India the Coca-Cola Cup. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2014 — India's highest civilian honour — and is the youngest person and the first active (or recently retired) sportsperson to receive it. In a 2002 Wisden poll, he was voted the second-greatest cricketer of all time after Don Bradman.