By the turn of the century, watching Tendulkar as India's lone warrior staging single-handed fights, - while carrying the hopes of a billion hearts, - was cricket's grandest spectacle. Too often his achievements would be let down by lack of support from teammates. Yet, his ability to continue to live to fight another day, shoulder blame unfairly and always delve into positives, transcends Tendulkar beyond a cricketing icon to a role model and a prized treasure for the oft-tarnished image of the sport. By the end of it all, through each seemingly-effortless, technically-perfect shot, that made batting an art form rather than a laborious effort, Tendulkar went on to be the game's leading run-getter, half-centurion and centurion in the two most pre-dominant forms of the game.



It is paradoxical that at the start of all these achievements was performance of nothingness - a debut ODI duck and an unflattering debut Test 15 against Pakistan as a 16-year-old. It underlines the old adage of attitude over talent, reminding everyone that even legends have to struggle to find their feet. He did make it big, of course, one small step at a time. First replacing Sanjay Manjrekar as India's most formidable batsman of the time and then becoming the only contender to Sunil Gavaskar's stature in Indian batting history. Finally, even the great Don Bradman drew parallels between himself and Tendulkar. In between, captaincy called on a few occasions, but it was one thing he wasn't cut out for. The "Little master" was also one of the very few who came out with his head held high as always, following the match-fixing scandal.



Following the turn of the century came India's ascendency after disappointing pasts during Tendulkar's foray in the peak of his career. He was now provided with the long-awaited support crew. But he still remained the mainstay while guiding his nation towards the summit of Test rankings. If Bradman started high and ended low, Tendulkar started low to rise unfathomably even miles before his end.



Virat Kohli perfectly summed up the sentiment of many when he famously said that it was time that they carried Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders after he had carried the burden of the nation's expectations for 21 years. This World Cup win was the most special moment of Tendulkar's life.