NIRVANAGoing into a single off Chaminda Vaas at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Saturday, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was celebrating even before he had reached the other end. He looked heavenwards and acknowledged his father’s spirit, eyes wet with emotion.“I normally don’t become so emotional (on the field),” he said later. “There are few moments in my life when I had become so, and this was one such. The special centuries are this century and the first.”Statistics play into sublime regions in cricket. Tendulkar’s 35th Test century, a world record, pulls a train of other landmarks. INFANCYOn November 15, 1989 at the National Stadium in Karachi he became the youngest Indian to play Tests. He was 16 years 205 days old. He scored 15. ADOLESCENCEFirst century at old Trafford on August 9, 1990. That unbeaten 119 also took his Test runs kitty past 500. THE TEENSCrossed 1,000 runs on November 26, 1992 vs South Africa with a personal score of 111. MATURITYScored first of four double centuries (217) on October 29, 1999 vs New Zealand. SUPERSTARMatched Don Bradman’s 29 centuries at Port-of-Spain with 117 on April 19, 2001. GREATNESSMatched Sunil Gavaskar’s 34 hundreds with a 159 vs Bangladesh in Dhaka on December 11, 2004. GENIUSBatting on 100 vs Sri Lanka, at the Kotla, on Saturday, that’s the 35th, one better than the rest of the world. BLISSWhat’s his idea of perfect happiness? “I don’t know,” he said on Saturday. “I am happy at the moment, extremely happy.”
