As Sachin Tendulkar turns 42, here's a look at the moments that defined his career

It was just another day at the Nirmal Nursing Home, where a simple Marathi couple, Ramesh and Rajni Tendulkar gave birth to a baby boy. No one knew what the destiny of that boy would be, where his fate will take him and what he would achieve. Ramesh named the boy after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. But little did he know, that in coming years, how many people were going to name their sons in after what Ramesh had named him, Sachin Tendulkar. 

Aged 11, his elder brother Ajit, introduced Sachin to Ramakant Achrekar, a famous cricket coach and a club cricketer of repute, at Shivaji Park, Dadar. And so was the beginning of a legend. It was no giving up from then.Tendulkar trained hard under his coach Achrekar. Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989 aged just 16 years. Then onwards, he was a regular selection in the Indian squad. A set of records were to be ensued then. Scoring a century of centuries in his career, making the first 200* in a limited over game, are some of the most noticeable achievements. 

Here are some of the biggest moments from Sachin Tendulkar's cricketing career. A tribute to the God of Cricket.

1) 114 against Australia in Perth (1991-92) 

As an 18 year old boy, Sachin faced a stern test on a minefield of a pitch during a tour of Australia. Sachin scored a brilliant 114 in the fifth Test in Perth even as his teammates collapsed around him. Considering the pace attack, comprising Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott, it was one of the best innings by a non-Australian in Australia. Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB." A prediction which came true in the end.

(SACHIN TENDULKAR 114 AT PERTH 1991-92 vs AUSTRALIA)

2) The Last Over in Hero Cup Semi Final against South Africa​ (1993): 

Apart from his batting exploits, Sachin is widely remembered for one of his bowling expertise in the semi final of Hero Cup in 1993. India faced South Africa in the semi finals. The Proteas needed just six runs of the final over. And guess who came to India's rescue? . Sachin held on his nerves and showed what a cricketer he is by defending a meagre target in the last over. Credit to Azharuddin for giving the last over to the little master who made the moment his own and made India proud. India went on to win the Hero Cup Final beating West Indies, where Kumble took his legendary 6/12.

(Sachin's magical last over in Hero Cup semi final)

3) 137 against Sri Lanka (1996 World Cup):

Tendulkar's rise continued as he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 World Cup, scoring two centuries and three fifties. The match in question was a group stage match against Sri Lanka where Tendulkar blasted a 137 off 137 balls. Although hitting his personal high score for India, his team lost the match as Sanath Jayasuriya went on a rampage in the first few overs, carting the hapless Indian bowling - particularly Manoj Prabhakar - to all parts of the ground.

(Sachin Tendulkar 137 vs Sri Lanka 1996 WORLD CUP)

4) 143 against Australia at Sharjah (1998):

This was really the innings that made Tendulkar a legend. Tendulkar scored two consecutive centuries in this tri series (also featuring New Zealand). In this match, India required 254 to pass New Zealand on net run rate, and qualify for the final. The winning target was 284. India were struggling at 4 wickets down when a sandstorm disrupted play. What came after the sandstorm was another storm - from Tendulkar's bat. Sachin was not satisfied with qualifying for the finals - he attempted to win the match! He might have pulled it off had he not been given out caught off his shoulder. But India managed to qualify for the final and two days later, on his 25th birthday, Tendulkar scored another riveting century to win the trophy for India.

(Sachin's desert storm masterclass. 143 against Australia in Sharjah)

5) 136 against Pakistan at Chennai (1999):

In the historic Test against Pakistan at Chepauk in 1999, the first of a two-Test series, Sachin scored 136 in the fourth innings with India chasing 271 for victory.​ This innings was a memorable one as Sachin was suffering from severe back spasms. India had slipped to 82/5 before Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia put together a century stand. Tendulkar kept going after Mongia was out. However, he holed out to Shahid Afridi when India needed 17 more runs to win, triggering a batting collapse, and India lost the match by 12 runs. He didn't turn up for the press conference and was reported to be crying in the dressing room.

(Sachin Tendulkar 136 Vs Pakistan 1999 Chennai)

6) 98 against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup : 

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, helping India reach the final. While Australia retained the trophy that they had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award. This was one of his memorable innings against India's neighbours and fierce rivals, Pakistan. It is famous for his six over third man off Shoaib Akhtar, and for his wonderful timing throughout the innings, against an attack comprising Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar.

(Sachin Tendulkar 98 vs Pakistan WC 2003)

7) Embarrassing dismissal against Pakistan in Karachi (2006):

This happened at the lowest point of Sachin Tendulkar's career. Hit with several injuries over the past few years, Tendulkar had had a bad few years and looked to be in terminal decline. Rookie fast bowler, Mohammad Asif clean bowled Sachin - a sight made more embarrassing by Tendulkar losing his balance and falling to all fours. 

(Asif destroying Indian batting)

8) 117* against Australia in CB Series Final (2008): 

In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving India, Sri Lanka and Australia, Tendulkar became the only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out off 120 balls in the first final (in the second innings), and 91 runs in the second final. India won the finals 2-0. During the series, Sanjay Manjrekar had called Tendulkar an 'elephant in the room' who often failed while chasing. What a way to prove a man wrong.

(Tendulkar ripping apart Australia down under in 2008)

9) 200* against South Africa (2010): 

In the second match of the ODI series against South Africa, Tendulkar scored 200 not out, becoming the world's first batsman to score a double century in ODI cricket and breaking the previous highest score of 194 jointly held by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry. Since then, 5 more double centuries have been scored and yet the first one remains the most special.

(Sachin 200 Highlights)

10) 2011 World Cup win 

Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's leading run-scorer for the tournament; only Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs in the World Cup. India defeated Sri Lanka in the final, though Tendulkar made just 18. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy."

(A video grab of Tendulkar's victory lap after winning 2011 World Cup)

11) Retirement from All forms of cricket :

The 2011 World Cup win was the peak of Tendulkar's career. His game began to decline thereafter and he failed to make a Test century after January 2011. Finally, on 10 October 2013 Tendulkar announced that he would retire from all cricket after the two-Test series against West Indies in November.

Later the BCCI confirmed that the two matches would be played at Kolkata and Mumbai, making the farewell happen at his home ground - Tendulkar's request. He scored 74 runs in his last Test innings against West Indies. The Cricket Association of Bengal and the Mumbai Cricket Association organised events to mark his retirement from the sport. Various national and international figures from cricket, politics, Bollywood and other fields spoke about him in a day-long Salaam Sachin Conclave organised by India Today​.

(The most emotional moment for every Indian cricket fan, truly very special.)

He might have left from all forms of cricket, but cricket will never run out of his veins. It will be with him till his last breath. He saw a dream and lived that dream. He was arguably the greatest batsman of his generation and India's greatest batsman ever. Another Tendulkar birthday has come and gone, and yet we will never forget him.