By IANS
Adelaide : Sachin Tendulkar Thursday became the first batsman to have recorded 80 centuries in international cricket – 39 hundreds in Tests and 41 in One-Day Internationals when he scored a hundred against Australia in the fourth Test at Adelaide.
Tendulkar has extended his record for most Test hundreds (39) and hundreds on foreign soil to 23.
Tendulkar’s tally of six hundreds in Australia is a record by an Indian batsman in India-Australia Tests in Australia.
His tally of nine centuries is also a record for most Test hundreds in India-Australia Tests, surpassing the feat of Sunil Gavaskar, who had hit eight centuries.
With nine centuries against Australia, he has emulated the feats of England’s Wally Hammond and David Gower, West Indians Brian Lara and Richie Richardson. Only England’s Jack Hobbs (12) has more centuries than Tendulkar against Australia.
Tendulkar’s strike rate 72.09 Thursday is his best amongst all the six hundreds recorded by him in Australia.
Tendulkar became the first player to have posted two hundreds in 2008 – 154 not out at Sydney and 124 not out at Adelaide.
In terms of run-aggreate, the present series is his best, surpassing his aggregate of 446 (ave.111.50) in three Tests against Australia in 1997-98 in India.
Tendulkar has recorded two centuries in a Test series for the eighth time in his career — three times against Australia (1991-92), 1997-98 and 2007-08 — against England in 1996; against Sri Lanka in 1997-98; against New Zealand in 1999-00; against Zimbabwe in 2001-02 and against Bangladesh in 2007.
He has recorded an innings of 60-plus in each of the four Tests in the current series – 62 at Melbourne; 154 not out at Sydney, 71 at Perth and 124 not out at Adelaide.
His tally of 88 fifty-plus innings (39 centuries + 49 fifties) has been bettered only by Allan Border’s tally of 90 such knocks (27 centuries + 63 fifties).