I rate this hundred very highly: Tendulkar | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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I rate this hundred very highly: Tendulkar

PTI | By, Sydney
Mar 03, 2008 02:47 AM IST

Sachin Tendulkar, who defied pain to score his first one-day century in Aus, rates his effort "highly".

Sachin Tendulkar, who defied pain to score his first one-day century in Australia in his 18-year career, rated his effort "highly" but said he did not want to prove anyone wrong.

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Tendulkar remained unconquered after scoring 117 which helped India to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three finals, setting platform for their first-ever one-day cricket tri-series win Down Under.

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"In the last series, I missed a few centuries. I was also struggling with a groin strain for some time. But these things are part and parcel of the game and one has to carry on. I rate this hundred very highly," Tendulkar said after guiding India to a six wicket victory.

Tendulkar's less than stellar one-day record while chasing in recent times had set some tongues wagging but the batsman said he was not aiming to prove anyone wrong.

"I play the game for passion and love. People have been writing all sorts of things and I don't want to prove anybody wrong," he insisted.

Tendulkar also said he was happy about his long stay in the middle on Sunday as planned. "It was wonderful to end on a winning note and be there when victory was achieved. The century was secondary. The next match (in Brisbane on Tuesday) is very important now," said the master batsman, who may be playing his last ODI series in Australia.

The 34-year-old cricketer agreed that he wanted to get his first one-day hundred in Australia but felt victory in the first final made it a secondary objective.

"I wanted to get the hundred today. We had never beaten Australia in Sydney, and there was no better occasion than today to change that," Tendulkar said.

Maestro hits back at critics

Tendulkar hit back at his critics who questioned his inability to strike form in one-day cricket of late, saying he did not bother about the comments of those without any credibility.

"A lot of those people who can't do certain things themselves, they talk, so let them talk," Tendulkar said. "I look at the credibility of the person who is writing. I prefer to listen to those people who matter to me. They do pick up the phone and tell me," he said.

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