One of the marks that I thought would be unachievable, especially since Test cricket was on a decline, was the number of Test centuries mark set by Sunil Gavaskar.

And no wonder then, that Sachin Tendulkar has proved me wrong and broken that record at the same ground where Sunny equalled Don Bradman’s record of 29 centuries.

Congratulations, Sachin. You have done so much over the past 16-17 years that this is just icing on the cake. Keep it going and keep entertaining us for many more years! Hope to see you in the West Indies in 2007! :-)

Now, if only I could get a hold of India/Australia one day matches in Sharjah where he single-handedly put India in the finals first, and then won the trophy for India with his explosive innings back-to-back.

I felt emotional reading Sachin’s quotes on the 35th…

More emotional than most people have ever seen him on a cricket field, Tendulkar reacted with a long look up to the heavens when he reached the hundred, and admitted it was different from what he had felt before. “That was for my father. I miss my father very much. I’m sure he would have enjoyed every moment of this if he were here. There have been very few moments in my life when I have got emotional. But this time I felt very different."

With No. 35 out of the way, the question of where to next popped up, and Tendulkar’s reply was spontaneous. “Back to the hotel!” On a more serious note, when asked what could be expected of him, Tendulkar said, “I can’t say what heights I am going to achieve. But what you can expect from me, what is in my hands, is 100% commitment and sincerity and playing for the cause of the team."

In all the adulation, Tendulkar has somehow managed to remain remarkably humble. On the day when he broke Gavaskar’s 22-year-old record, he said, referring to the little man with the title Mr, “Heroes will always be heroes. Mr. Gavaskar will always be a hero of mine. I would say to him, `Thank you for the support you have given us. Not only me but other batsmen as well. It really helps to have senior cricketers who can speak to you about your game.' I have often gone to him for advice and he has set such benchmarks and standards for us that you needed to have a disciplined and dedicated life to get to a landmark like this.”