Accolades pour in for record-breaking Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his double century during the second one-day international cricket match between India and South Africa in Gwalior February 24, 2010.

CHENNAI (Reuters) - President Pratibha Patil and prime minister Manmohan Singh led the accolades to Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday, a day after the batsman became the first player to score a double century in one-day international cricket.

The 36-year-old, who scored 200 not out to help his side to a 153-run victory over South Africa in Gwalior on Wednesday, was also lauded by television channels which ran special programmes while newspapers ran front page stories marking his feat.

The Indian Express broadsheet ran a front page picture of Tendulkar looking skyward with his bat and helmet held aloft on reaching the mark, with the headline "God!"

The Times of India's front page said "Immortal at 200" while the Hindustan Times said "Sachin climbs peak never scaled before."

Former players also paid tribute to the right hander, who hit 25 fours and three sixes in an 147-ball knock that combined poise with power to add another record in his impressive career.

He has scored the most runs in tests (13,447) and ODIs (17,598) and most centuries in tests (47) and ODIs (46) and has carried the expectations of the cricket-crazy nation for over two decades.

"Given that Sachin Tendulkar is the first man in history to get to the mark in his 21st year of international cricket, with mind and body intact through astonishing pressure and responsibility, makes the feat all the more laudable," former India captain Anil Kumble wrote in the Hindustan Times.

Sunil Gavaskar, the first man to scorer 10,000 test runs, was also amazed at Tendulkar's ability to keep producing records.

"There is a little boy in Tendulkar who wants to keep playing. That spirit keeps him going. It's absolutely incredible how he keeps going," said Gavaskar.

"A lot of others with his record would have had called it enough. But I guess there is no word called enough in Tendulkar's dictionary."

Tendulkar reached the landmark with a single off Charl Langeveldt in the final over after moving past the previous record score of 194 jointly held by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry.

"I had (said) that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs," former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad told Indian media.

(Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)