In the second final of Commonwealth Bank Series, Sachin Tendulkar broke a world record that almost went unnoticed.
When his score reached 9, Tendulkar became only the second batsman after Sir Don Bradman to make 5000 or more runs against a particular opponent in all forms of international cricket (Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals).
On 38, he broke Sir Don's world record of 5028 runs against England. Now Tendulkar has 5082 runs against Australia in all international cricket.
Sir Don Bradman had scored all the runs in Test matches. No one can come close to this record, not even Tendulkar. But, in all international matches, Tendulkar is now the 'Don'.
Most runs in international cricket against a particular country
| Batsman | Opponent | Mts | Inns | NO | Runs | Hs | Avg | 100 | 50 | 0 |
| SR Tendulkar (Ind) | Australia | 85 | 107 | 6 | 5082 | 241* | 50.31 | 17 | 23 | 6 |
| DG Bradman (Aus) | England | 37 | 63 | 7 | 5028 | 334 | 89.78 | 19 | 12 | 6 |
| AR Border (Aus) | England | 90 | 124 | 25 | 4850 | 200* | 48.98 | 8 | 30 | 4 |
| BC Lara (WI) | Australia | 82 | 108 | 5 | 4714 | 277 | 45.76 | 12 | 26 | 9 |
| DL Haynes (WI) | Australia | 97 | 123 | 14 | 4495 | 148 | 41.23 | 11 | 27 | 4 |
| IVA Richards (WI) | England | 72 | 84 | 10 | 4488 | 291 | 60.64 | 11 | 26 | 4 |
| IVA Richards (WI) | Australia | 88 | 104 | 10 | 4453 | 208 | 47.37 | 8 | 34 | 6 |
| DI Gower (Eng) | Australia | 74 | 108 | 7 | 4063 | 215 | 40.22 | 11 | 15 | 4 |
| GA Gooch (Eng) | Australia | 74 | 110 | 1 | 4027 | 196 | 36.94 | 8 | 25 | 5 |
Tendulkar against Australia in international cricket
| Mts | Inns | NO | Runs | Hs | Avg | 100 | 50 | 0 | |
| Tests | 25 | 47 | 5 | 2352 | 241* | 56.00 | 9 | 9 | 4 |
| ODIs | 60 | 60 | 1 | 2730 | 143 | 46.27 | 8 | 14 | 2 |
| T20Is | 0 | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 85 | 107 | 6 | 5082 | 241* | 50.31 | 17 | 23 | 6 |
[Acknowledgement: Rediff reader Ishaq Khan]
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