Tendulkar-Lara gates unveiled at SCG to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's 50th birthday
Sachin Tendulkar has been commemorated at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and joined his close friend and rival, Brian Lara, as the only non-Australian cricketer to be honored with gates used to access the playing field.
The gates are located between the away dressing room and the Noble Bradman Messenger Stand. The honor for Tendulkar and Lara has been in talks since 2019-20 but finally materialized on the special occasion of Sachin's 50th birthday.
Tendulkar spoke glowingly about the honor of having visiting players access the field of play through the gate named after him and Lara. He said:
"The Sydney Cricket Ground has been my favourite ground away from India. I have had some great memories at the SCG right from my first tour of Australia in 1991-92. It is a great honour to have the gates used by all visiting cricketers to access the field of play at the SCG named after me and my good friend Brian. I would like to thank the team at the SCG and Cricket Australia and for this kind gesture. I look forward to visiting the SCG soon."
West Indian great Brian Lara echoed Tendulkar's thoughts on this honor bestowed upon the pair and on playing at the SCG. He said:
"I am deeply honoured to be recognised at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as I'm sure Sachin is. The ground holds many special memories for me, and my family and I always enjoy visiting whenever I am in Australia."
The pair produced some of their most memorable performances at the prestigious Sydney Cricket Ground, averaging an incredible combined average of 97.41 in tests at the SCG. Lara produced a breathtaking 277 against Australia at the SCG, after which he named his first daughter Sydney.
Tendulkar also produced one of his most famous knocks of 241* at the SCG in the fourth and final test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2003/04. He averaged a stunning 157 in tests and an equally impressive 52.50 in ODIs at the SCG in his career.
The duo were recently seen interacting at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad before the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) - Mumbai Indians (MI) clash. Tendulkar is currently the mentor of the MI franchise, while Lara is the head coach of the SRH franchise.
Sachin 🤝 Lara
https://t.co/353aEnMtO1
Tendulkar and Lara's rivalry was among the fiercest contested ones, with the pair breaking numerous records in test matches and ODIs while mesmerizing fans from across the globe with their batsmanship.
While Tendulkar has scored almost 34,500 runs in his international cricket, Lara has scored over 22,000 runs. The pair have combined for an incredible 153 centuries in their illustrious careers.
"Sachin’s technically the best batter that I’ve ever seen and played with or against" - Ricky Ponting
Former Australian captain and current Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting heaped praise on Sachin Tendulkar by calling him the best batter he has seen or played against technically.
The pair played together in 2013 for the Mumbai Indians and have had numerous battles over the years in India-Australia clashes.
Speaking ahead of the former Indian captain's 50th birthday, Ponting said:
"Whatever plan that we came up with as a bowling group, he found a way to combat it, whether it was in India or Australia. It’s hard to rank and judge players as everyone is different and everyone plays the game differently. But certainly through the generation that I played, he was technically the best player that I saw."
The former Australian great has scored over 27,000 international runs with 71 centuries in his illustrious career while captaining Australia to two World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007. The Sachin-Lara-Ponting rivalry was among the major talking points for cricket pundits and fans in the early 2000s.