Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar re-wrote the record books on Wednesday in Gwalior hammering the first double century in the history of one-day cricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap.
The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium witnessed history today as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.
One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out) and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194).
As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer.
His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni came down from the striker's end to shake hands and hug him.
And as Tendulkar set on his way back to the pavilion after the completion of the Indian innings, a tumultuous celebration greeted him.
The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their senior teammates.
Tendulkar batted like a man with a mission today and the South African bowlers simply had no clue where to bowl.
Once he crossed the 150-mark, the crowd anticipated something special and Tendulkar did not let them down.
A six off Roelof van der Merwe took him past Kapil Dev's 175 not out and in the next over, he hit Jacques Kallis for a four to equal his previous best of 186 not out that had come against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.
The crowd got restless as Tendulkar approached the 194-run mark and a couple off Wayne Parnell saw him eclipse it.
His teammates and spectators were on the edge of their seat with a double century round the corner but with Dhoni going berserk at the striker's end and facing most of the deliveries, it was an agonising wait for all.
Dhoni took singles off the final deliveries of the 47th-49th overs and Tendulkar finally took strike with four balls left in the innings.
The first ball he received from Langeveldt was steered past point and Tendulkar ran for a single to remain unbeaten after an unforgettable unbeaten 200 that came off just 147 balls with 25 fours and three sixes in it.
It was yet another milestone for the man, who has some 30,000 international runs under his belt, including 93 centuries (47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs).
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Sachin and said the "master batsman" has climbed the "Mt Everest of the game".
'Sachin Tendulkar has yet again re-written the record books of cricket, by climbing yet another Mt Everest of the game," Patil said in a message.
She said in setting a new benchmark for the highest score by a batsman in one-day internationals as well as in notching up a double century, "the master batsman has set stiff targets" for future generation of cricketers to break.
Terming it a "magnificent achievement", the Prime Minister said that Sachin has led by "example and that all Indians are proud of his achievement".
Cricket fraternity hailed Sachin Tendulkar describing the feat as an incredible achievement.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar led the tribute, saying Tendulkar has established himself as the greatest batsman ever.
"There is just no question about that. He is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen," Gavaskar gushed.
"See his record! Who else has got 90-plus centuries, 1700-plus runs in ODIs and 13000-plus runs in Test cricket? He is comfortably the greatest batsman ever," said Gavaskar.
Spin legend Shane Warne, who enjoyed many a duel with Tendulkar, followed the innings and kept posting on his Twitter page, egging the Indian to achieve the milestone.
"(I'm) nervous for my good friend Sachin," Warne posted as Tendulkar approached 200.
"Come on Sachin my friend get your 200. World record to please! you deserve it," he said.
Once Tendulkar reached the milestone, the former player posted "Yes, yes, yes! Well done Sachin my friend. Congrats and well done! (It's) awesome."
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar paid his rich tribute to Tendulkar, saying it was an incredible feat that spoke volumes of the batting master's toughness.
"It's an amazing feat to get 200 in a day and that too off only 147 balls," Vengsarkar said.
"It shows his mental and physical toughness. He's a player who does not throw away his wicket once he's set. He always places a huge price on his wicket," Vengsarkar said.
Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi also lavished praise on Tendulkar, calling him the greatest sportsman.
"Sachin - the greatest ever player ever - without any doubt," the IPL boss wrote on his Twitter page.
"I salute Sachin...world's greatest sportsman. We can see him only rise. (He is an) inspiration to us all. He is the best," Modi said.
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara also paid his tribute.
"What an innings it was! He came close to achieving it twice. I always felt that Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya are capable of doing that," Sangakkara said.
Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad said he was always convinced of Tendulkar's greatness and stands vindicated.
"He is my favourite player. I had told that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs," Miandad said.
Another former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail attributed Tendulkar's success to his humility.
"I think if you ask Saeed Anwar (who jointly held the previous record for highest ODI knock), he would say he's happy that Tendulkar broke his record," Sohail said.
"The reason for his success is that he has a great respect for the game," Sohail reasoned. PTI
