Today is April 24th and, as ardent admirers would remind you, it's the 43rd birthday of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
'#HappyBirthdaySachin' has been trending top on Twitter since Sunday morning and people from various walks of life have been pouring in accolades to the Little Master.
And today, we take a look back at why Sachin still continues to reign our hearts even after his farewell Test match against West Indies in Mumbai on a tear-laden day in 2013.
Master of numbers
Countless records have been broken and set up by this cricketing genius ever since he walked into the 22 yards as a teenager with curly hair. His journey - from the record batting partnership with Vinod Kambli way back in 1988 that announced his entry into the cricketing world till his exit in his 200th Test match - is strewn with records, most of which have been lapped up with utmost sincerity by his fans.
God of cricket, but very much on earth
Even when records came and tumbled before him, Sachin remained what he is. Blessed with a heartwarming face, Sachin has been a people's legend without ever resorting to any dramatics even for the TV cameras. Not over once has the legend lost his cool, especially with his frenzied fans, always obliging to the calls of autographs and selfies. Often called as the 'God of cricket', he has also been regarded as a unifying force in a country that harbours many religions.
Sachin does not need to sledge
A man of few words, Sachin has always let his bat and the ball do the talking. Even the best of Australian bowlers could not force even a single bad word out of him, and in all probability, the next ball would have been shown the way out of the ground by the master to prove his point. Former Australian pacer Michael Kasprowicz and Pakistan's Shoaib Akthar have all been at the receiving end. As some of the new breed of Indian cricketers engage in brawls on field or off the field, there is at least one wise person to comment that Sachin would not have done that.
When even rivals love Sachin, how can we be left behind
Sachin's famed 'frenmy' relationship with legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne is one for the books. Warne, who struggled to get the better of the master during their cricketing years, even once casually said that he had nightmares of the ace cricketer. Twelve years later, he corrected it was said in a lighter vein, but still acknowledged that Sachin was an all-time great. Another Aussie, who praised Sachin as the best batsman he had seen, was two-time World Cup-winning skipper Ricky Ponting.
Kerala connect
Well, Sachin's connection with Kerala is not exactly through cricket. Yes, Keralites love his trademark shots and it was in Kochi that he took his career-best five-wicket haul trumping Australia in 1998. But currently, we love to see him at our Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, sporting the yellow T-shirt and cheering on our Kerala Blasters during the ISL.
Cricket or football, 43 or more, Sachin will continue to be our hero.
Thank you Sachin and Happy Birthday!