For 24 years over 198 Tests, 463 ODIs and a single T20 match, every time he has come out to bat or made his way back to the pavilion he has been cheered in virtually every single cricket ground in the world. Therefore, the applause he got today in the final moments of the final Test against Australia was not unusual.
Many would have hoped that he would hit the winning runs. But that was not to be as Tendulkar lasted only five balls, falling leg before to Nathan Lyon for one run.
A hush fell on the ground but as he made his lonely walk back to the dressing room the crowd suddenly was on its feet and cheered him again.
There are flashes of brilliance as in the first Test against Australia at Chennai last month when he played a solid knock of 81. But he has never gone past 50 subsequently and his average for the series is 32.
Given India's cricket calendar, the next home Test will be in mid-2014 when Tendulkar would be past 41. Prior to that the Indian team is scheduled to travel to South Africa this December followed by a tour of New Zealand in early 2014.
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