Cricket: Two-ton club welcomes Tendulkar

AHMEDABAD - Indian cricket skipper Sachin Tendulkar says he always believed he had a test double-century in him - it was just a case of being patient.

The waiting came to an end for the master batsman on Saturday, when he scored 217 in the third and final cricket test against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

His feat helped India to amass their biggest total against New Zealand, 583 for seven declared, beating the 537 for three declared in Chennai (formerly Madras) in 1955.

The double-century came in Tendulkar's 71st test and followed three test scores in the 170s, his previous highest being 179 against the West Indies in Nagpur in 1994.

"Last year I scored 200 against Australia in a first-class match, so I knew it was within my reach," he said. "It was just a matter of time. I had to show some determination."

Apart from two brief periods, Tendulkar played with his usual authority and dash during a 494-minute stay at the crease.

He had a couple of nervous moments in the 90s, including misjudging a pull shot and offering a difficult catch that was dropped.

As he reached the total he had not passed before, the 170s, he slowed down until he got a full toss from spinner Daniel Vettori which he belted to the midwicket boundary to go to 181.

His 200 came up, also against Vettori's bowling, when he pushed forward of square leg for a single, to a deafening roar from the crowd.

But Vettori had the final say, when Tendulkar tried to pull a short delivery and was well caught by Dion Nash at midwicket.

Earlier in the series, Tendulkar, who made his test debut 10 years ago at 16, joined the select group of players with 20 test centuries to their name.

He said it was not until he reached 170 that he felt a double-century was in his reach.

"I just wanted to bat some more and spend more time out there," he said.

"I knew if I didn't play any rash shots, it would come."

Tendulkar also shared in a record partnership with Sourav Ganguly, who scored 125.

The pair put on 281 to eclipse the previous best fourth-wicket stand for India against New Zealand - 171 by Polly Umrigar and Kripal Singh in Hyderabad in 1955.

It was also the highest partnership in a test at the 16-year-old Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, which has other fond memories for Indian cricket fans.

It was here that Kapil Dev, now the Indian coach, took his 432nd test wicket to break Sir Richard Hadlee's record for most test dismissals, and that Sunil Gavaskar scored his 10,000th test run.

But Tendukar said there was no comparison between their efforts and his double century.

"Those two achievements are far, far above what I've done here," he said.

"My innings was nice, I think technically it was pretty sound, but I wouldn't put it in the same category as 432 wickets and 10,000 runs."

- NZPA