With curtains finally falling on the 23 year old illustrious career of the Master Blaster, its time to rewind on his best career knocks of all time in Test Cricket:

1.136 vs Pakistan @ Chennai,1999

This has to be perhaps the  greatest of innings that that Little Master played.Yes India did lose the match in the end by 13 runs but if it wasn't for  the heroics of Tendulkar that India could never put up a fighting performance against the formidable Pakistani side & most importantly Saqlain Mushtaq,the man tormented India throughout the series.Sachin fought immense back pain & pressure to help India chase 271 but he fell short as India lost the match by mere 13 runs.One of master's most clutch performances.

2.241 vs Australia @ Sydney,2004

The fourth test match of the series & yes Sydney Cricket Ground it was as people would build it "Sachin Cricket Ground".It had been a quite series for the Master coupled with super bad umpiring decisions.But the Master wasn't done yet.People save their best for last but Tendulkar reserves it against the mighty Aussies.His determination,his will,his discipline was exemplary.Tendulkar didn't hit a single ball on the off side or the covers as he was repeatedly getting out on balls bowled to him on the off stump.Patience Personified to be precise to describe this innings of the Master.

3.193 vs England @ Headingley,2002

One of the Master's most brutal & dominating knocks that cricket fans have ever witnessed.India batting first scored a gigantic total of 628-8 dec in the first innings aided by tons from Ganguly,Dravid & Tendulkar who eventually won the match for India & helped to level the series at 1-1.Sachin scored a magnificent yet fluent 193 a knock which included 19 fours & 3 huge six.One specific six he hit of Andrew Caddick,he came down half pitch & hit it for a huge six.It was billed as "Home Run" by Geoff Boycott.

4.103 vs England @ Chennai,2008

The match was played in the backdrop on the 26/11 attacks that stormed Mumbai.With 387 left to chase in the fourth innings Sehwag,Yuvraj & Sachin sealed the victory for Team India.The Master notably played a masterclass innings of 103 not out under immense pressure & limited time to seal the victory for Indian Team.Sachin once again proved  that his hundreds are not limited to matches ending in draws or losses but also victories.He noted his this knock as one of his best ever.

5.146 vs South Africa @ Cape Town,2010

Sachin scored an impressive 146 against the mighty bowling attack of the Proteas.Dale Steyn the best bowler in world cricket too had a tough time bowling against the master.Steyn along with Morne Morkel were on the receiving end this time as the Master Blaster terrorised the South African Bowling around the park.One of the Master's finest

6.114 vs Australia @ Perth,1992

Even after two decades after playing that knock the Aussies are still surprised as to how a shaky 20 year old could play an innings of such character & valour.The Aussie  bowling attack comprising of Craig McDermott,Merv Hughes,P Reifell & MR Whitney were in the prime of their bowling prowess but Tendulkar stormed the occassion & staked his claim as a rising young superstar.

7.116 vs Australia @ Melbourne,1999

Team India were going through their worst,it was a lull for both the team as well as the then Captain Sachin Tendulkar.The problem was Team  India's over dependence on the Master.In the second test match of the series though Tendulkar gave all that he could possibly have.Out of team total 212 the master scored 116 impressive runs against the mighty bowling attack of Fleming,McGrath,Lee & Warne.An innings played under tremendous pressure but under a losing cause nevertheless the Master once again proved his metal with consistent performances against top bowling attacks.

8.117 vs West Indies @ Trinidad & Tobago,2002

India finally won a test match in the carribean & it was worth the wait.Unlike the original "Little Master",Sunil Gavaskar,Sachin Tendulkar had to wait before he could win a match here against the West Indies.It was an important innings which shaped the way for India to win the match.

9.119 vs England @ Manchester,1991

Sachin's first century & what a fighting innings it was.Thriving under pressure has always been with him since his debut & he is still going strong carrying the hopes of nation of a billion people on his shoulders.Sachin's fighting knock helped India save the match.The world witnessed a young 17 year old marking his entry with a bang.Very few would have predicted that this young lad would go on to become one of the greatest batsman in the history of cricket.

10.155 vs Australia @ Chennai,1998

The series dubbed as the" Warne vs Tendulkar" duel lived upto its impressive heights.Tendulkar was on a different zone in this series.People started identifying Tendulkar with Sir Viv Richards who was originally called the Master Blaster.Sachin slammed Warne for huge sixes  as well as hitting him inside out & various cover drives of Kasprowicz & Peter Reifell..It was a treat to watch vintage Tendulkar in action, destroying bowlers at his will.Mark Taylor,the Australian Captain back then had famously stated in the post match presentation that they didn't lose to a team called India but to a man called Sachin Tendulkar.

Honourable mention:

160 vs New Zealand @ Hamilton,2009

169 vs South Africa @ Cape town,1997

177 vs Australia @ Bangalore,1998

148 vs Australia @ Sydney,1992

LEANDER PAES:DEFYING AGE

By winning  the US Open Doubles Title for  a record third time, at the age of 40,Leander Paes has rightly proved that age is just a number.Paes along with his doubles partner Radek Stapneak defeated the second seeded pair of  Alexander Peya & Bruno Soares in the finals to clinch the US Open.Leander & Stapneak played great tennis throughout the tournament,even defeating the deadly duo of Mike & Bob Bryan in the semis.In a career spanning well over two decades in the International Circuit,Leander Paes has widely been considered as one of the greatest doubles/mixed doubles player ever to play the game of tennis.For people who truly aren't aware about his heroics, he has also won a Bronze Medal for India at the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta.He won the bronze medal in a singles match, quite suprising as he is generally a very good doubles/mixed doubles player than in the singles..Among the 14 Grand Slam titles that he has won,8 have been won by him in doubles competition & 6 in mixed doubles.He also won his sole ATP singles title at Newport.Besides he has given many legendary performances in Davis Cup ties for India.His career was also highlighted by beating the then reigning tennis champion and all time great Pete Samprass in staright sets 6-3,6-4 at New Haven ATP.Paes has also won 53 ATP Career titles,making him one of the most successful doubles player ever.He has been the only tennis player ever to play in six olympics.He has already won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award,India's highest sporting honour besides he was also awarded the Arjuna Award & the coveted Padma Shri.It has been  an illustrious career to say the least for Paes,yes he lost quite some finals but he won many too.He put India on centrestage when it came to tennis.It was after when the likes, legends Ramesh Krishnan & Vijay Amritraj retired,it took some time & bang Leander Paes stormed on the scene.Paes had his share of controversies though,his infamous feud with fellow compatriot & doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi.Paes & Bhupathi were a deadly duo who won 3 grand slam doubles title together,besides being runner-up in 3 slams.Both had a public spat,their feud was known to everyone.things became quite ugly with both of them hitting out at each other in the media.The famous "Indian Express" that had an impressive 303-103 win loss record went their seperate ways.For reasons best known to them they split & it actually robbed them of winning many more grand slam titles together.Though they went on to play together again in Davis Cup & Olympics for the sake of the nation,but it wasn't their best stuff together..Apart from his feud with Bhupathi,Paes has enjoyed a very clean & successful career.Playing tennis when one is 40 is difficult but what is  even more difficult & great is winning at the age of 40.His fitness levels & enthusiasm have left everyone spellbound.Kudos to Leander,the guy has always given his heart out whenever he plays,a thorough champion & a wonderful mascot for India.Leander Paes by all means is a champion and one of a kind athlete,no wonder he is defying age.

After naming my All Time India XI(Best) in ODI & Test respectively,i thought why not name an all time Flop India XI of all time(just 4 fun);)

OPENERS:

Sadagopan Ramesh

Shiv Sunder Das

MIDDLE ORDER:

Vinod Kambli

Rohit Sharma(Captain Undoubtedly)

Sanjay Bangar

Deep Das Gupta

Dinesh Mongia(all rounder)

Ajay Ratra(wicket keeper)

BOWLERS:

Ashok Dinda

Laxmipathy Balaji

Piyush Chawla

12th Man:

Harbhajan Singh

SHANE WARNE:KING OF SPIN

Rarely has the game of cricket seen a performer like Shane Warne.Perhaps one of the greatest bowlers that the game of cricket has ever seen,Shane Warne with his spin bowling changed the face of cricket viewed by the general public.Not only did he make leg spin a cult among his playing days but also constantly surprised people with his jaw dropping bowling,charisma & occasional wonders with the bat.

No leg spinner in the history of the game has been as good & lethal as a performer like Shane Warne has been.Although few leg spinners like Anil Kumble,Richie Benaud,B Chandrashekhar,Abdul Qadir & Jim Laker come close but none can match the level of performance that Shane Warne has set everytime he played for Australia.In the year 2000 he was among five crickters selected as the Wisden Crickteres of the century,a feat which cultivated his status to being an absolute legend.In a career spanning well over 15 years Shane Warne took over 1000 International wickets.Be it Test Matches or ODI'S the king of spin tormented batsman from all teams no matter how great the batsman was.In 145 test matches Warney captured a mammoth 708 test wickets @ bowling  average of 25.41 with 10-10wicket hauls & 37 times he captured 5 or more wicket in an innings with 8-71 being his best performance against against England in Brisbane.Richie Benaud had once famously said that Shane Warne is to bowling what Sachin Tendulkar is to batting.Shane Warne has enjoyed success against every team but against India he had to face a hard time as the Indian batsman were such good players of spin bowling.The Warne-Tendulkar duel or rivalry was fast catching up as one of the most exciting moments in cricket.The Master of batting vs The Wizard of Spin.After retiring from International Cricket, Warne was signed as the captian for The Rajasthan Royals in the inaugral Indian Premier League for a base price of 450,000$,little did people knew  that Warne would lead the Royals to victory in the very first edition of the IPL.Warne even after retirement from International Cricket, showed splendid moments of fine bowling in the IPL & astute leadership for which he was widely appreciated as he helped nurtured the young talent in the team.He also played in the Big Bash for the Melboune Stars.A true gentlemen that he was, he always publicly acknowledged great performers & their performances.He tormented batsman at his will his leg spin bowling,it was magical to see Warne bowling.What truly sealed Warne's position as an all time great bowler was his constant mind games with the batsman,winning matches on numerous accounts for Australia single handedly,the quality of leg spin was certainly legendary,it was hard to believe that someone could turn the cricket ball so much.The ball that Shane Warne bowled to Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes Series was termed as "Ball of the Century".Mike Gatting was considered to be one of the very few good players of spin bowling in the English cricket team at that time but Gatting was totally bamboozled by the delivery that Warne bowled at him.He was  the highest wicket taker in his very first series with 34 wickets in 6 test matches.The English have always bore the brunt of Warne's genuises with the cricket ball with the the legend capturing 195 wickets in 36 test matches against them.Warne toyed with batsman from teams like South Africa,Pakistan,New Zealand & Sri Lanka.Bowling in the rough, destroying top batsman at will & getting into their minds, Warne was a real class.In the ODI circuit too he was successful but didn't play long due to  failed drug test just before the 2003 world cup owing to which he later retired from one day cricket,still in 194 ODI Warne captured 293 wickets.He was also the highest wicket taker in the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup with 20 wickets & was also named man of the match in successive matches in the semi-finals against the Proteas & in the final against Pakistan where he completely destroyed the Pakistani batting with 4-33 in the finals.Shane Warne was also handy with the bat as he managed to score 3000+ test runs with 99 being his highest test score.The Magician that he was with his craft of leg spin bowling Shane Warne became widely considered as one the greatest players to ever play the game of cricket.

His career had few controversies like the Failed Dope Test before the 2003 world cup,accepting money from a bookie just before the match for providing pitch & weather information besides also his feuds with Arjuna Ranatunga,Steve Waugh & Adam Gilchrist.Very few batsman have dominated Warne,Sachin being an exception the only batsman who could play Shane Warne so well be it inside out or playing shots when the ball was balled in the rough to him.I believe he is not just the greatest bowler of all time but also for his stupendous performances over the years as one of the greatest cricketers of all time.It is widely believed that Shane Warne was the greatest captain Australia never had,he was a gambler he used to play poker & his mind could pull off genuises that only few could execute.Crowds loved Shane Warne some even coming to see a match just to see Warne bowl those majestic spell of spin bowling.He has won 17 man of the match awards in tests quite a rare feat for a leg spinner.On countless occassions, Shane Warne has done the impossible,bowled the odd ball & castled batsman around their legs many a times.He too, was a character on the cricket pitch always in the scheme of things besides being a great slip filder too.He was also a part of 92 test matches that the Aussies won with him in the team.Almost all of the cricketing greats including Brian Lara & Sachin Tendulkar have said that Warne is one of the greatest bowlers they have faced and is an all time great.A thorough legend that he is,it is his craft of leg spin bowling which truly made people,cricketing pundits & cricketers of his generation realise how great of a bowler Shane Warne is.

KEVIN PIETERSEN: ONE OF GAME'S GREATEST BATSMAN

Kevin Pietersen has been one of the most enigmatic & charismatic cricketers of the modern era.Dominant & competitive on the field yet controversial.Kevin Pietersen or KP as he is fondly called is a South African born English batsman who after playing domestic cricket in South Africa voiced his displeasure at the quota system that existed in the South African National Team & left to play for the England Cricket team.Kevin Pietersen has been one of the dominant batsman that the game of cricket has seen in the last decade or so.

Only Matthew Hayden & Ricky Ponting come close to KP'S dominance on the field.Kevin Pietersen made his test match debut against the formidable Aussie side in 2005 captained by Ricky Ponting & immediatlely made headlines with his heroics with the bat & the Mowhawk haircut that he sported.With an impressive debut series against the Aussies whereby he scored 473 runs @ an more than impressive average of 52.55 he was named the man of the series for his effort which included a series clinching 158. The succes on the tours of Zimbabwe,South Africa & the Ashes immediately made KP a huge hit with the fans.KP is the fastest batsman to reach the milestone of 1000 & 2000 runs in ODI cricket emulating the all time great Sir Viv Richards.In the Test arena too,KP was adamant on breaking more records & being an all time great as he had the second highest run total from first 25 tests only behind another legend Sir Donald Bradman,in terms of days he was also the fastest to 4000,5000& 7000 test runs.Although Kevin Pietersen's career hasn't been short of controversies.His eccentric personality combined by his enigma has landed him in a soup many a times in a career.First he had a fallout with the England Cricket Team National Coach Peter Moores,he also resigned from the captaincy after a short stint & also announced his retirement from the ODI arena though he would retract later & continue to play for England.He also had a famous fallout with England & Wales Cricket Board,Captain Andrew Strauss & teamates owing to which he was widely criticised which put his hall of fame career in jeopardy.It all became soon  sorted as England coach Andy Flower sorted out things within the team the issue of KP included.He has been one of the most loved cricketers round the globe.According to a survey out of all the successful international cricketers,the cricketer that the Indian Public loved & wanted to watch play the most in the IPL was Kevin Pietersen.KP was majestic with the bat in the T20 world cup help in the west indies in 2010 & for his heroics he was also named the man of the series.He has constantly thrashed teams like India,Pakistan,South Africa,Australia & New Zealand.In 98 tests KP has amassed over 7775 runs batting at no.4 position with 23 hundreds & 31 half centuries @ an average of 48.74 & in the ODI circuit he has scored 4369 runs in 132 ODI'S @ an average of 41.60 with 9 centuries & 24 half centuries,both records being impressive.An intimidating batsman KP likes to dominate the bowling & at times even come as far as on the half crease to hit a shot,not many batsman besides Matthew Hayden have done that.KP has been widely considered been one of the most feared batsman in recent times in International Cricket.He has regularly thrashed the Indian bowling attack at his will by scoring 6 impressive big hundreds against them including 2 double tons. His highest test score being 227 against the Aussies in their own backyard at the Adeilade Oval which won the match convincingly for England.

His famous yet controversial shot "Switch Hit" through which he scored huge sixes to many fast & spin bowlers was soon banned by the ICC owing to the legality of the shot.He loves hitting the big shots especially huge sixes & dominating the bowlers at his will owing to which he is widely considered as a dominant batsman.He has been an out and out performer for the England Cricket Team.Many cricketing legends & cricketing pundits have already hailed KP as one of the most dominant yet complete batsman that we have seen playing the game of cricket.KP is always in the news be it his attitude,his tattoos,his personality,his on field heroics he is a controversial yet enigmatic character but a character that wins matches for England on his own.Fans love him,fellow cricketers respect his game & cricketing pundits have always named KP as Engalnd's greatest Modern Era Batsman.KP has always been  a difficult character to understand but a performer,no one can deny his greatness.The aura of KP has made him a huge hit with fans & cricketing legends. As a self confessed Kevin Pietersen fan i feel he has all the shots in the book, is an all time great & a great character to watch be it the IPL or any form of cricket.KP has always stated in interviews that he intends to be one of the game's greatest batsman & score 10000 test runs @ an average of 50+ to be in the league of all time greats only a confident person would say that in public.His career has had the share of  lows &  highs but it hasn't stopped KP from being the kind of character he is the kind of crickter he is to countinue as performer at the highest level.His attitude is quite similar to that of Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali,strive to be the best,fierce attitude yet charming personality & unmatched performance with the bat.Kevin Pietersen for his majestic ability with the bat & his superman heroics owing to which the England team has become a success should be credited as one of the game's greatest batsman  ever if not the greatest.

INDIAN CINEMA'S FINEST ACTORS:JHAKAAS ANIL KAPOOR

Perhaps one of the  finest actors that the Indian Film Fraternity has ever produced. Anil Kapoor surely remains one of its most verstaile & greatest of actors in the last 35 years.In a career spanning well over 3 decades the he has done it all in Hindi Cinema as well as Internationally.Anil Kapoor who made his debut with a small role in Humare Tumhare in 1979 went on to do many blockbuster commercial as well as  critical successes like Woh Saat Din,Meri Jung,Ishwar,Mashaal,Mr.India,Karma,Ram Lakhan,Parinda,Lamhe,Tezaab,Virasat,Pukar,Welcome,No Entry,My Wife's Murder,Slumdog Millionare besides acting in hit TV series 24.

A struggler in his initial days, Anil Kapoor started doing small roles and even ventured into  Kannada & Telegu Films as he was not getting movies in the Bombay Film Industry as it was then fondly known as.It was after he acted in Woh Saat Din that people got to notice his talent..He gave a stupendous performance in Woh Saat D alongside Nasserudin Shah which by many is still widely remembered and recognised as one of the greatest performance by an actor till date.The word Jhakaas has become synonymous with him.He was undoubtedly the biggest star of the mid 80's & early 90's and continues to remian a big star favourite among the masses.His comic performance in Chameli ki Shaadi was applauded..He gave legendary performances in movies like Meri Jung that gave him the angry young man image,Tezaab which won him his first Filmfare award for best actor,Mashaal alongside the legendary Dilip Sahab for which he won the Best Actor in a supporting role besides also  commercial blockbusters like Ram Lakhan,Parinda,Beta,Khel,Kishen Kanhaiya,Janbaaz & last but not the least the role for which he is most remembered for the potrayal of Arun Verma in the cult film Mr.India.Anil Kapoor was the rising and one of the biggest stars at that time.Besides he also gave some brilliant & unorthodox performances in movies like Ishwar,Lamhe,Virasat,1942 A love Story which showcased his versatality as an actor.Almost every movie that he acted in during that time became a huge hit.Tezaab was a huge sensation with the masses & Beta too,which made him a fan favourite.He simply ruled the Hindi Film Industry at one point of time even outdid the great Amitabh Bachchan..He had his share of lows that after pumping all his money for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja,it bombed at the box office miserably thus hitting his star value at that time.Few actors bounce back from failures like Anil Kapoor has.After the failure of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja he did 1942-A Love Story & Laadla,two very different characters and two very different films.He has time and again reinvented himself.His performance in the cult classic Virasat still remains in the minds of people and is still widely talked about as one of his greatest ever.

He has won every award,worked with every filmmaker,his is a class actor with a lot of versatality & passion for excellence his his craft.He won the prestigious National Award for his portrayal of an Army Officer in Pukar.His role as the Chief Minster of Maharashtra in the iconic movie Nayak is still a hit with the public.His comic act in movies like Biwi no.1,Deewana Mastana,Khel,Kishen Kanhaiya,No Entry,Welcome are simply superb.His tenacity to constantly reinvent himself & do character role elevated his status among his fans.In the last couple of years he has again been the "Dark Knight" or the "Lambi Race ka Ghoda" he has surged ahead of his contemporaries by doing movies like Slumdog Millionare,Shootout At Wadala & his bravo act in the magnificent season 8 of the hit TV sitcom 24,it generated rave reviews for Anil Kapoor globally and he has thus become one of the most widely recognied actors from the Indian Film Industry overseas.Slumdog Millionare gave him the recognition,appreciation & accolades that he truly deserved.A personal favourite he is thoroughly underrated should have been given more due but nonetheless he is getting his share  now..Arjun Kapoor,also an actor, his niece has described that watching Anil Kapoor on a set on a given day is a lesson in cinema .He might not be as big as a star as SRK or Amitabh Bachchan is but he for sure is one of the greatest actors that we have ever seen act.... Kudos to the man.Surely one of Hindi Cinema's finest ever.

ALAN SHEARER:MASTERCLASS

One of the game's finest & purest strikers Alan Shearer has won it all & done it all in the game of football.One of the most successful players in the Premier League History Shearer has won the the coveted winners medal by winning the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers though he felt short of accomplishing the same feat with the club the spent most time of his glorious career with Newcastle United.Alan Shearer has been the record goalscorer in the EPL history with 260 goals & 422 in all competitions.He was thus awarded the Football Writers Association Player of the year in 1994 & the PFA player of the year award in 1995.Shearer had a goal to game ratio at 0.667 throughout his career which is mighty impressive besides he also won the golden boot in the EPL a record 3 times only behind another great Theiry Henry.Shearer has amassed many a records in the Premier League history owing to which he became one of the top players in tha game at that time.Alan Shearer a fan favourite thus was also a regular in the England National Squad.Shearer who was a centre forward was insanely strong with brute power,ferocious speed & the heading ability owing to which he scored so many goals.

In his  illustrious career spanning over 18 years he played for top clubs like Southampton,Blackburn Rovers & Newcastle United.His career had a few controversies though like his aggresive style of play & him being charged for misconduct by the FA besides his  feud with United Legend Roy KeaneHe was offered a record offer to either join Manchester United or Newcastle United, but he chose the latter for 15m pounds & didn't win a single championship throughout his playing days in Newcastle United.Alan Shearer had some of his most destructive & majestic years when he played with the Magpies.He could never really win a trophy at the club he used to hero worship since his childhood but he even managed the club for a single season when the team was in shambles but couldn't do much as Newcastle were relegated to tier-2.The 10 glorious years he spent at St.James Park are still remembered by his loyal fans.Many of the game's great have named him in their elusive all time great sqaud,he is even listed in FIFA 100,as one of the 100 greatest players ever to play the game of football.A personal favourite player of mine i always respected Alan Shearer,he was always a hero & a legend to me..My personal favourite Alan Shearer goal remains the goal he scored against Manchester United in 2004 at St.James Park,it was perhaps one of his many great goals.Personal Favourite Moment includes the time when he reitred he went to the bench and then came again & scored against Celtic Glasgow in his testimonial match where he scored a penalty also the Euro competition held in 1996 where he was the top scorer with 5 goals.It is quite hard to sum up Alan Shearer's genius & his maverick abilities in words but he surely will remain as one of the game's greatest players to have ever played the game.Alan Shearer#respect#foreverNewcastleFC