On this day: Tendulkar crosses 12K to lead Test run charts

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar raised his bat amid fireworks after surpassing Brian Lara as the leading run-scorer in Tests.

Sachin Tendulkar shoots media photographers with his camera as team-mates V.V.S. Laxman (extreme left), Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag look on after India’s victory in Mohali.

A smoke-engulfed cricket stadium in a Test match is not a common sight, but Sachin Tendulkar’s bat often caused fireworks. Eleven years ago, on October 17, the Master Blaster surpassed the record of Brian Lara to become the leading run-scorer in Tests.

In the second Test against Australia in Mohali, Tendulkar crossed the figure of 11,953 runs with old friend Sourav Ganguly — who was playing his farewell series — at the non-striker’s end. He stole three quick runs off Peter Siddle to achieve the milestone a few minutes after tea.

Tendulkar reached the magic number in 152 Tests and 247 innings at an average of 54.03. Lara had taken 131 Tests.

Sachin Tendulkar in action from the Mohali Test.

 

Crackers were burst while the Australians walked up to the legend to congratulate him; play had to be stopped for a few minutes. He was eventually dismissed for 88.

Cricket experts and fans were counting days for the milestone. It could have happened against Sri Lanka earlier that year but the islanders kept him quiet in that series. And in the first Test against Australia in Bengaluru, he was out on 49 — just 15 runs short of the world record.

Tendulkar’s run wheel stopped at 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches. He retired in 2013 after two Tests against West Indies at home.