Tendulkar and Sehwag - the master and his apprentice

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Virender Sehwag's meteoric rise in international cricket is the most glowing tribute imaginable to his hero, Sachin Tendulkar.

As a youth growing up near Delhi, Sehwag aped his idol with an obsessive attention to detail, and ever since making a century on his Test debut, the dividends of his labours have been plain for all to see. Against Pakistan at Lahore this year, Sehwag became the first Indian batsman to register a Test triple-century, and his partnership with Tendulkar was instrumental in India's advance to the World Cup final in 2003.

When the master and his apprentice are in full flow at the crease, it is sometimes impossible to tell them apart - from their short, compact stances, to their flowing off-side play and their wristy clips off middle stump.

For Sehwag, to be the impetuous youth at the head of such a talented batting line-up is to have full licence to play his shots, and the game is enriched for his unfettered approach. None of it would be possible, however, were it not for the masterful influence that is Sachin Tendulkar.