Nothing Beats The World Cup Final In 2011: Sachin Tendulkar On His Best Cricketing Day

Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar mentioned that his 200 against South Africa remains to be his top innings in the 50-over format.

Tendulkar allured the cricket fans with his captivating shots and breathtaking innings in an illustrious international career of 24 years.

He is the highest run-scorer in Tests and ODIs, as he scored 3,4357 runs from 664 international games across all formats.

Tendulkar had to wait for six World Cup editions to put his hands on the decorated trophy of the ICC, something many great players eluded despite having a sparkling career.

Tendulkar aggregated 482 runs from nine innings in the 2011 World Cup at the strike rate of 91.98. He was the second most run-getter in the tournament behind Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Tendulkar hit centuries against England (120) and South Africa (111) although India didn’t win on either of the occasions. Tendulkar managed to score just 28 runs in the final against Sri Lanka, which India won by six wickets to lift the title after 28 years.

Nothing beats the World Cup final in 2011: Sachin Tendulkar

Going down the memory lane, the legendary player said that winning the 2011 World Cup was the best cricketing day of his life.

“Nothing beats the World Cup final in 2011. That was the best cricketing day of my life. That’s what you play for. I had the honour and privilege to represent the country for 24 years and had the honour of lifting the trophy on behalf of a billion-plus people,” Tendulkar told Sportstar.

“So, I always feel that it is not just a few individuals, but the entire 1.39 billion-plus population has played their role in bringing the trophy to our dressing room. It belongs to a billion-plus people,” he added.

Sachin Tendulkar talks about his special ODI innings

Tendulkar was the first batter to hit a double-hundred in One-Day Internationals, albeit, Virender Sehwag and further Rohit Sharma broke his record.

The Master-Blaster made 200 off 147 balls, his innings was studded with 25 boundaries and three sixes. India posted 401/3 and won by 153 runs in Gwalior.

Tendulkar termed his first double-hundred as his best knock in ODI cricket as he played against the likes of Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell and Jacques Kallis.

“The first 200 in the ODI that I scored against South Africa (in Gwalior in 2010) is one of my top ODI innings. Their bowling attack was very good, and they were a very good opposition. That was the first time in the history of ODIs someone scored 200 runs, so that has its own relevance,” the Master Blaster said.

Tendulkar retired from all forms of cricket on November 16, 2013, after playing his 200th Test match against West Indies in Mumbai.

Also Read: India Playing The 1000th ODI Is A Huge Milestone – Sachin Tendulkar