End of an era as Sachin Tendulkar bats farewell to remarkable career

When Sachin Tendulkar was 14, he scored a century in every single match he played for his school side.

His best was an innings of 326 not out. It was part of an unbroken record partnership of 664 with Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent his country.

The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game.

And so the legend of Sachin Tendulkar was begun.

Since that memorable year, Tendulkar has had 25 more. All memorable.

He has broken records for batting in every facet of the game: the most runs in Test matches, the most runs in One day internationals, the most test matches, the only man to score a double hundred in a One Day International, the list is endless.

He has a political career, as two restaurants and has even appeared (as himself) in a Bollywood film called "Stumped" - something he rarely was.

His fans devotion is unparallelled. When he failed to score his one hundredth century, many Indian newspapers carried reports of a supporter who'd hanged himself.

The most fitting tribute though came from someone who was perhaps almost as great a player. West Indian Brian Lara said this week: