Historic moment, unlikely to be repeated: Vengsarkar, Borde

Mumbai: Former India captains Dilip Vengsarkar and Chandu Borde today hailed Sachin Tendulkar`s 100th international hundred as an achievement that is likely to stand the test of time.

"It`s a golden moment for not only Sachin but also the Indian cricket. It`s a historic moment. Nobody has done it before and is the greatest milestone," said Vengsarkar, a former chief selector, soon after the senior batsman achieved the landmark against Bangladesh in Mirpur in the ongoing Asia Cup. "It`s very, very hard to beat. I`m very glad that an Indian has done it," he added. Another former skipper Borde also felt that the landmark appeared as if it would not be surpassed. "Today history was created by a great player, a great innings by a great player and I don`t think this performance will be broken for many years to come, probably not ever. It appears to be a permanent record," said Borde from Pune. Asked whether Tendulkar would now call it a day from at least the limited overs, the 77-year-old former middle-order batsman said it was for the player himself to decide. "It`s up to Sachin. I know how difficult a decision it is as he loves the game so much. I have personally experienced this when I decided to quit first class cricket. I kept awake till 3 am. It`s up to him." Mohinder Amarnath, a member of 1983 World Cup winning team under Kapil Dev, said India were very lucky that a player of Tendulkar`s stature was playing for the country. "It`s a great achievement by Tendulkar and a very very special day for Indian cricket. India is lucky to have a cricketer like Sachin," Amarnath, a member of the national selection panel said. He also hailed Tendulkar`s dedication to the game. "His passion, determination and dedication to the game is admirable. It`s not easy to have played for 23 years at the international level in these times," said Amarnath. Asked whether this record set by Tendulkar can ever be broken, Amarnath said, "Records are meant to be broken. But it will not be easy for anyone to even come near this record." PTI