He would have preferred to get it against a bowler of Australian paceman Glenn McGrath's class, but the scampered run off little-known Tapash Baisya in Dhaka firmly cemented Tendulkar's place as one of the best in the game's history.

By equalling Sunil Gavaskar's world record 34 Test centuries in the first Test against Bangladesh, he has proved right all the pundits who predicted big things for him when he made his debut as a curly-haired 16-year-old in 1989-90.

"It's great to have some company at the top," Gavaskar said during commentary on the ESPN sports channel soon after Tendulkar reached the milestone in his 119th Test. Gavaskar played 125 matches.

"It's a journey which has been fantastic for Sachin."

Years of hard work have gone into the making of Sachin Tendulkar, who led a busy life even in his early teens.

From climbing mango trees and playing table tennis for six hours at a time to when he rode on a scooter to bat at number three in one match and at number six in another, Tendulkar has had his days meticulously planned.

In fact, it was after he was caught climbing trees once too often that his brother, Ajit, took him to the field and told him to play cricket to keep away from mischief.

He was a quick learner under the guidance of coach Ramakant Archrekar and reached one milestone after another in school cricket, once scoring 326 not out as he put on 664 with Vinod Kambli, also a future India Test player.

Tendulkar distinguished himself in his debut series with some dogged knocks against Waqar Younis at his fastest, went on to score his first Test hundred against England at Old Trafford the next year and has never looked back.

The father of two, who was forced to bat left-handed by friends so that games would finish quicker, has now scored more than 9,700 Test runs at an average of over 56 and features in almost everybody's Dream XI.

The soft-spoken Tendulkar, also regarded as the best one-day player ever, is very conscious of his place in cricket history.

Don Bradman, watching him in full flow a few years ago, remarked that Tendulkar's style was similar to his own -- a great compliment for any cricketer and one that Tendulkar is known to cherish above all.

He has, however, become more conservative in his shot selection in recent years, cutting down on the uninhibited stroke-play that marked his early career.

Some experts feel that his magic, which was not only about how many runs he scored but how he scored them, is waning.

Tendulkar agrees his batting has changed.

He has abandoned his booming drives and vicious pull shots, relying on flicks and deft touches. He is content with milking the bowling rather than pulverising it.

The Mumbai batsman says it is a sign of maturity. His fans say the new approach is simply not Tendulkar.

But the biggest problem has been a recent spate of wear and tear injuries in his back, toe, finger, ankle and elbow.

Despite all the problems and recent criticism, Tendulkar has a Test average of 85 this year, the best for any Indian.

Experts may have a point when they say Tendulkar is no longer as dominant as he one was, but numbers show he still has a lot left in him.