Wax replica, confetti burst greet Tendulkar at Eden

Sachin Tendulkar was greeted by his real-life wax replica as he stepped into the Eden Gardens Monday for a net session ahead of the India-West Indies Nov 6-10 Test match, the 199th and penultimate game of his glittering career.

The five-foot-four-inch wax statue was placed at the entrance of the dressing room by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which is leaving no stone unturned to make Tendulkar's swansong Eden outing for India memorable for him, the city, as also his countless admirers.

One hundred youngsters stood on both sides of the stretch from the main gate of the stadium upto the dressing room and formed a human chain when the Team India bus arrived and Tendulkar alighted from the vehicle.

They wore vests with "Welcome" written on the front and "Little master's 199th Test match" embossed at the back.

Saluting 24 golden years of Tendulkar's international playing career, 24confetti cannons burst spraying red paper on the cricketing genius, who then got busy with Team India's practice drills.