After becoming the first player in the history of cricket to gather 17,000 runs, Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar said he was glad to have the honour of representing the country in international arena for 20 years.
Tendulkar, who was chasing the milestone from the onset of the series against Australia, achieved the feat during his 141-ball 175, which he made for a losing cause.
"It's the passion of representing India in international cricket that keep me motivated all the time. It's always a dream to play for my country. I am absolutely honoured to do that for the last 20 years," Tendulkar said after the fifth one-dayer in Hyderabad on Thursday.
However, Tendulkar was quite disappointed after losing the crucial game to Australia by only three runs.
"We started off very well, there was a good partnership between Suresh (Raina) and me at one point of time. But we lost few crucial wickets and also the game itself. So it's disappointing at the end of the day," Tendulkar said.
The Mumbai cricketer also praised young Suresh Raina, who scored run-a-ball 59 to make the battle interesting and shared a 137-run fifth wicket partnership with the batting maestro.
"Suresh is a terrific talent. We were trying to push the game as close as possible. We were chasing a big target, there was constant pressure on us, but we managed it well to bring the match quite close," Tendulkar said after being adjudged Man of the Match.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also lavished praise on Tendulkar. "It's one of the best knocks I have seen. Sachin was playing beautifully today." Ponting said.
"And I think, the wickets was also great here and a enthusiastic crowd all around as well," he added.
On his strategy during the match, Ponting said, "I was keep talking to the bowlers about sticking to their plans. We have been continuously improving during the seven-match series and looking forward to do so in the coming matches also."
Ponting was effusive in his praise of Tendulkar's brilliant 141-ball 175 that brought the hosts to the doorsteps of a heart-stopping victory in the fifth one-dayer.
"Sachin's innings was terrific. It was a great innings under pressure," Ponting said after his team snatched a narrow three-run victory and a 3-2 lead in the seven-match series.
While praising teammates, Ponting make a special mention of opener Shaun Marsh (112) for his debut century. "We did the right things and won the game. Marsh was outstanding. (Shane) Watson did well too (by scoring 93 off 89 balls) with bat and ball (3/47). (Debutant Clint) McKay bowled well as well," Ponting said.
The next match is scheduled in Guwahati on November 8 and the last game in Mumbai on November 11. PTI
India's cricket fraternity on Friday lavished praise on Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the first player in the game's history to cross the 17,000-run mark.
"It's really a remarkable achievement. He is one of the best cricketers of the world cricket. I have had some good memories with him, having partnering him for years in one-day cricket," said former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
The southpaw also wished the little master for the 2011 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"I wish he scores another 2000 runs by 2011 World Cup. Sachin knows best how to accumulate runs. Once he gets going he becomes unstoppable," Ganguly said.
Mumbai batsman Wasim Jaffer hoped that Tendulkar would also achieve 20,000-run mark. "He has achieved several records. I hope that he reached 20,000-run mark. Whatever he has achieved, it is nearly impossible to achieve for anyone else. I just wish that he keeps on going and gets more and more runs for India," Jaffer said.
