Making Cricket History

Certain sports milestones seem simply unreachable: Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, for example, or Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point output in a single basketball game. In cricket, it's the one-day double-hundred: no man had ever produced 200 runs for his team during a one-day international match. In February, however, India's Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest run scorer of all-time, hit the magic milestone against a powerful South African squad. Tendulkar smacked three "sixes" — the cricket equivalent of a home run — during his epic performance, and the build up to 200 was exhilarating. When he reached 199, the home crowd in Gwalior waved Indian flags, and roared, knowing they were about to witness history. The diminutive Tendulkar, dubbed "The Little Master," slapped a single past the South African fielders. The world's 1.5 billion cricket fans had a moment they'd never forget.

Tendulkar removed his helmet, and raised his arms toward the sky. "Take a bow, master," said television commentator Ravi Shastri, himself a former cricket star for India. "Aw, you little champion," his partner, former New Zealand cricketeer Danny Morrison chimed in. "If there was ever one deserving to break this milestone, this Everest, it is certainly Sachin Tendulkar."