The Great Game Called Cricket...

MUMBAI: India have reached the No.1 spot in Test cricket and who better to talk about it than the game’s highest run-getter? Naturally, Sachin


Tendulkar was a delighted man after India beat Sri Lanka on Sunday.

‘‘We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. The last 18-20 months have been very good for us. This is a reflection of what we have been able to achieve in the last 20 months or so. It is a special day for me, and all the Indians. It is great to be sitting on top,’’ he declared proudly.

Tendulkar himself recently scaled a mighty personal peak, completing 20 years in Tests, but this was his turn to pay tribute to his teammates and the backroom boys. "I thought Gary (Kirsten) and Paddy (Upton) along with Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad played a major role.

"This is a result of MS Dhoni’s leadership and a complete team effort. The whole team got together and worked hard,’’ Tendulkar said, adding: ‘‘It is a team sport and it will always be a team sport. The batting lived up to expectations. The bowlers did a wonderful job. Catches were taken. I don’t want to pinpoint any particular thing.’’

Tendulkar, however, maintained it would be unfair to rate this Indian team as the best ever. ‘‘I wouldn’t want to compare. I feel all the teams that I have been part of had highly respected players."