Tendulkar Rates Chennai Hundred His Best in Career

Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his century and win over England during the first Test match between India and England in Chennai.

London/Chennai: He's got 85 international centuries to his name, but Sachin Tendulkar rates his 103 not out against England in Chennai last December as his most significant.

The century hit by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar against England just after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks gave him more satisfaction in comparison to his other tons in all varieties of the game, as it brought back smiles on the faces of terror hit Indians.

"I think the one against England in Chennai last year," he said, about his most-satisfying century that came barely a month after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Tendulkar was a 14-year-old schoolboy, when Dilip Vengsarkar, then the Indian captain, judged him ready to play first-class cricket and he went on to hit 208 centuries in all forms of the game.

"After what happened in Mumbai (the terrorist attacks), the mood of the entire nation was low. Something was needed to put smiles on people's faces. I am by no means suggesting that the people who lost near and dear ones could forget their terrible loss, but if we as a team were able to make them smile for just a couple of seconds, that was an achievement," the Independent quoted Tendulkar, as saying.

Spotted by former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar when he was just 14 to play first class cricket, the master-blaster said that the tons he scored during those schooldays would always find a special place in his heart.

"I would say that there were a couple in my schooldays that changed my life. In the semifinal of an under-17s tournament, I scored 326 not out, which is when everyone in Mumbai took notice of me. I then scored 346 not out in the final, with Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar watching."

"I was only 14 at the time, but Vengsarkar wanted me to join the Mumbai first-class team, which contained nine Test players. He had to be sure I was ready. So he invited me to play in the India nets. The Indian team had a camp in Mumbai, and he made Kapil Dev and all these guys bowl at me in the nets. After that session he gave a green signal to the selectors," he said.

And validating Vengsarkar's faith in him, the young Sachin scored the highest number of runs in his very first domestic season.

From then to now, Tendulkar said that Indian cricketers are in a unique position to affect the mood of a billion-strong country, and they have to respect this power.

"You know, cricket in India brings the entire nation together, from the poorest child to a billionaire. We are in a position to make everyone happy, which is very special for me and the whole cricketing fraternity," he said.