The little master strikes again. Sachin Tendulkar hit another century yesterday, against Australia in Nagpur. It is almost a year since Tendulkar scored his last ton, but it was always a question of when he would bag his next three-figure run haul, not if.

What this diminutive cricketer has achieved in his 19-year Test career is remarkable. Last month he became the highest scoring player in the history of test cricket, passing 12,000 runs.

Tendulkar has accomplished all this while being subject to the sort of mass adulation in India which makes our own public's enthusiasm for David Beckham look positively underwhelming. Through this madness, Tendulkar has kept his sanity and professional focus. And, incredibly, he is still making his runs at age 35.

They say the new century will belong to emerging economies such as India. But in the cricketing universe, one of the subcontinent's sons already reigns supreme.