Tendulkar's 40th one-day century, which gave him a staggering 75 hundreds in international cricket, dominated the sports pages even though the West Indies won the rain-affected match in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

It was the 33-year-old's first major game after a shoulder injury kept him out since the third Test against England in Mumbai in March.

"He's back, and how," cried the Indian Express with a picture of Tendulkar with his arms raised. It also carried an appreciative article by former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar.

Gavaskar wrote that Tendulkar had dispelled all doubts over his fitness with the masterful and entertaining knock.

"Once he hit that front foot down and straight drove the fast bowler, it was clear that he was mentally at peace with himself and had no doubts in his mind about his fitness," Gavaskar wrote.

Popular television pundit Harsha Bhogle, also writing in the Indian Express, cautioned against taking Tendulkar for granted.

"As we celebrate, we need to tuck away at the back of our minds that this will not happen everyday," Bhogle wrote. "Tendulkar is in a reality show, not a scripted Bollywood blockbuster.

"Let us not package him like the movies, just savour him for what he has done and is doing for as long as he can."

The Times of India, under the headline "Hooked on Sachin", gave statistical details of the prolific batsman who holds the world record for most runs (14,289) in one-day cricket and has scored a record 35 hundreds in Tests.

"D/L spoils Tendulkar's KL party", the paper added, referring to the Duckworth and Lewis system that awarded the curtailed match to the West Indies.

Most papers did not fail to note that the West Indian total of 141-2 in 20 overs was the same as Tendulkar's individual score and blamed bad luck for the defeat.

The front page of the Hindustan Times had a picture of Tendulkar under the headline "Batman returns", while The Hindu said, "Sachin scores, but Duckworth and Lewis prevail."