More plaudits flow in for Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar’s mega feat continued to receive applauds. Among the early ones to congratulate the Little Master was Sharad Pawar, president of International Cricket Council and a former president of Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Pawar, it was learnt, called Tendulkar and also sent him a message.

“There have been many greetings for Sachin and Mr Pawar was one among them,” said team manager Ranjib Biswal. Among others to greet Tendulkar were BCCI president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan.

Both are believed to have conveyed messages to the Maestro through the team manager.

Meanwhile, Jacques Kallis, South Africa all-rounder, rubbished claims that he did not applaud the feat. Among the South African players, Kallis was seen standing quiet while his teammates, including skipper Graeme Smith, were seen clapping when Tendulkar completed his 50th Test century at the SuperSport Park here on Sunday evening.

“Not at all, as soon as he got it, I did applaud him,” the South African all-rounder, commented, when specifically asked why he was looking deadpan at that momentous occasion.

Kallis, who received applauds from Tendulkar on his personal milestone of first double century on Saturday, hailed Tendulkar’s feat. “It’s a fantastic achievement to get to 50 centuries. I think everybody in our country applauded that,” Kallis said after South Africa completed the win in the first Test.

“But I think there are a lot of achievements that our guys have got and also need recognition for that it’s just as big a feat as what Sachin has done in a slightly different way,” Kallis added.

Meanwhile, the Indian team is preparing for a two-day break at the Sun City here. The team will travel to the holiday resort to unwind before reaching Durban on December 23. The second Test starts on December 26.

Before leaving for the hotel, the team went through a gruelling net session at the SuperSport Park on Monday afternoon. The nets were supervised by coach Gary Kirsten, who was particularly focussing on the bowlers.

Understandable, as the bowlers managed only four South African wickets in the just-concluded Test.