Tendulkar at 40: ever evolving batting
Greg Chappell celebrated Tendulkar's 40th birthday in his column, looking back at their relationship when he was the Indian coach, and the little nuances and observations that made Tendulkar stand out from his peers. BBC Sport picks out six of Tendulkar's
ESPNcricinfo staff
24-Apr-2013
On the day of his 40th birthday, Greg Chappell toasted the 'Little Master' in his column for the Hindu. Chappell, who was India's coach for a turbulent two-year stint, looks back at his relationship with Tendulkar, and what attributes made him such a legend. He also provides observations on how Sachin's game, and stance, have evolved over the many years.
What did surprise me was the meticulous attention that he gave to his bats. I had seen others who were quite protective and caring of their bat, but I had never seen anyone who showered their bat with such loving attention. He constantly altered the batting grip and spent hours with a scalpel scraping and cleaning the blade so that it was pleasing to his eye
BBC Sport has put together a list of the six greatest innings Sachin Tendulkar has played over his long, storied career. Some expected centuries do feature, however there are a couple that may surprise the casual reader.
It might not have been the biggest score of Tendulkar's career, but his 44 against West Indies in a one-day international in Trinidad was another courageous and skilful display of batting. Opening the innings, he top-scored as India were bowled out for 179 on a difficult pitch - Curtly Ambrose taking 4-36. India's pacemen were not as effective and the Windies raced to victory.