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Gavaskar to Tendulkar: Go for 50
Calling him a jewel more precious than the 'Kohinoor', Sunil Gavaskar said Sachin should now gun for the 50-centuries mark.
Sachin Tendulkar was given little time to celebrate his world-record equalling 34th Test century by Sunil Gavaskar, the man he matched on Saturday.
Gavaskar, in Dhaka as a TV commentator, promptly went up to Tendulkar and told him not to stop before scoring 50 Test tons.
"We may not have the Kohinoor but we have Sachin and to us Indians he's worth far more and even more precious," Gavaskar said in his congratulatory message to Tendulkar.
"When he came off the field at tea I said to him that my expectations of him are now higher and I want not 40 but 50 Test hundreds from him," Gavaskar said in a statement on Saturday.
Tendulkar took 119 Tests to reach the milestone. Gavaskar had played 125 matches for his 34 tons.
He finished the day 159 not out, giving India a 164-run lead with three days left to play in the first Test.
"Right from the time when I first saw Sachin play a flick shot wide of mid-on in the nets for the Mumbai (Bombay) Ranji Trophy probables, I knew that here he was a special talent," Gavaskar said.
"His enthusiasm for the game remains undiminished and his bearing on and off the field has always been exemplary."
