Sachin Tendulkar became only the fourth batsman in Test cricket to complete 9,000 runs when his score reached 36 during his unbeaten knock of 73 on the opening day of the fourth and final match at Sydney.

Despite his recent run of failures, Tendulkar has achieved this milestone in the least number of innings, 179, though he has taken one match more than Sunil Gavaskar.

At 30 years 253 days, Tendulkar is also the youngest batsman to complete 9,000 runs. All others were above the age of 35 when they accomplished this feat.

Interestingly, his only real challenger now for the top rank, West Indies captain Brian Lara, is just 84 short of 9000 Test runs. The Lara-Tendulkar battle promises to be an exciting one over the next three or four years.

Performance against each country:

Opponent	Tests	Inns	NO	Runs	Ave	HS	100s	50s	0s	90s	50+
Australia	19	34	3	1561	50.35	177	6	6	4	0	12
Bangladesh	1	1	0	18	18.00	18	0	0	0	0	0
England	16	24	2	1683	76.50	193	6	8	0	2	14
New Zealand	16	27	5	1062	48.27	217	3	5	1	0	8
Pakistan	7	12	0	395	32.92	136	1	2	2	0	3
South Africa	14	26	1	948	37.92	169	3	3	1	1	6
Sri Lanka	13	16	2	1124	80.29	148	6	3	0	1	9
West Indies	16	25	2	1328	57.74	179	3	7	3	1	10
Zimbabwe	9	14	2	918	76.50	201*	3	3	1	0	6
at home	47	77	8	4265	61.81	217	15	15	3	3	30
abroad	64	102	9	4772	51.31	193	16	22	9	2	38
Total	111	179	17	9037	55.78	217	31	37	12	5	68

Leading Test batsmen:

Batsman	Team	Runs	Tests	Inns	NO	HS	Ave	100s	50s	0s	90s
Border, A R	Aus	11174	156	265	44	205	50.56	27	63	11	3
Waugh, S R	Aus	10807	168	258	46	200	50.98	32	49	22	10
Gavaskar, S M	Ind	10122	125	214	16	236*	51.12	34	45	12	5
Tendulkar, S R	Ind	9037	111	179	17	217	55.78	31	37	12	5
Lara, B C	WI	8916	100	176	5	375	52.14	23	42	10	5
Gooch, G A	Eng	8900	118	215	6	333	42.58	20	46	13	3
Miandad, Javed	Pak	8832	124	189	21	280*	52.57	23	43	6	4
Richards, I V A	WI	8540	121	182	12	291	50.24	24	45	10	3
Stewart, A J	Eng	8463	133	235	21	190	39.55	15	45	14	2
Gower, D I	Eng	8231	117	204	18	215	44.25	18	39	7	2
Boycott, G	Eng	8114	108	193	23	246*	47.73	22	42	10	6
Sobers, G St A	WI	8032	93	160	21	365*	57.78	26	30	12	5
Waugh, M E	Aus	8029	128	209	17	153*	41.82	20	47	19	2

Fastest to 9000 runs:

Batsman	Team	Inns	Test	Opponent	Venue	Season
Tendulkar, S R	India	179	111	Australia	Sydney	2003-04
Gavaskar, S M	India	192	110	Australia	Adelaide	1985-86
Border, A R	Australia	207	121	West Indies	Kingston	1990-91
Waugh, S R	Australia	216	136	England	Birmingham	2001

Tendulkar's performance at each venue:

Venue	Tests	Inns	NO	Runs	Ave	HS	100s	50s	0s	90s	50+
Adelaide	3	6	0	122	20.33	61	0	1	1	0	1
Ahmedabad (Gujarat Stadium)	5	9	0	431	47.89	217	2	0	0	0	2
Auckland	1	1	0	5	5.00	5	0	0	0	0	0
Bangalore	5	8	1	439	62.71	177	1	2	0	2	3
Birmingham (Edgbaston)	1	2	0	146	73.00	122	1	0	0	0	1
Bloemfontein	1	2	0	170	85.00	155	1	0	0	0	1
Bombay (Wankhede)	6	10	0	639	63.90	148	1	5	0	1	6
Bridgetown (Barbados)	2	4	0	104	26.00	92	0	1	1	1	1
Brisbane ('Gabba)	2	3	0	23	7.67	16	0	0	1	0	0
Bulawayo (Queen's Sports Club)	1	2	1	110	110.00	74	0	1	0	0	1
Calcutta	6	11	1	399	39.90	176	1	2	1	0	3
Cape Town	2	3	0	251	83.67	169	1	1	0	0	2
Chandigarh	1	1	0	11	11.00	11	0	0	0	0	0
Christchurch	1	2	0	24	12.00	24	0	0	1	0	0
Colombo (PSS)	1	1	0	71	71.00	71	0	1	0	0	1
Colombo (RPS)	1	1	0	143	143.00	143	1	0	0	0	1
Colombo (SSC)	3	6	2	456	114.00	139	3	1	0	0	4
Cuttack	1	1	0	2	2.00	2	0	0	0	0	0
Delhi (Ferozeshah Kotla)	5	9	0	346	38.44	122	1	1	1	0	2
Dhaka	1	1	0	18	18.00	18	0	0	0	0	0
Durban (Kingsmead)	2	3	0	30	10.00	15	0	0	0	0	0
Faisalabad	1	2	0	67	33.50	59	0	1	0	0	1
Georgetown (The Bourda)	2	2	0	162	81.00	83	0	2	0	0	2
Hamilton	3	5	1	162	40.50	67	0	1	0	0	1
Harare	3	5	0	130	26.00	69	0	1	1	0	1
Johannesburg (The Wanderers)	2	4	0	156	39.00	111	1	0	0	0	1
Kandy	1	0	0	0	-	dnb	0	0	0	0	0
Kanpur	2	4	1	156	52.00	61	0	1	0	0	1
Karachi (National Stadium)	1	1	0	15	15.00	15	0	0	0	0	0
Kingston (Jamaica)	2	4	1	149	49.67	86	0	1	0	0	1
Lahore (Gaddafi)	1	1	0	41	41.00	41	0	0	0	0	0
Leeds (Headingley)	1	1	0	193	193.00	193	1	0	0	0	1
Lord's	3	5	0	96	19.20	31	0	0	0	0	0
Lucknow (KD Singh)	1	1	0	142	142.00	142	1	0	0	0	1
Madras (Chepauk)	6	10	3	714	102.00	165	4	1	1	0	5
Manchester (Old Trafford)	1	2	1	187	187.00	119*	1	1	0	0	2
Melbourne (MCG)	3	6	0	267	44.50	116	1	1	1	0	2
Mohali	5	8	1	361	51.57	126*	1	2	0	0	3
Nagpur	4	5	1	625	156.25	201*	3	1	0	0	4
Napier	1	1	0	88	88.00	88	0	1	0	0	1
Nottingham (Trent Bridge)	2	4	0	377	94.25	177	1	2	0	1	3
Perth (WACA)	1	2	0	119	59.50	114	1	0	0	0	1
Port Elizabeth	2	4	1	29	9.67	22*	0	0	1	0	0
Port-of-Spain (Queen's Park)	2	3	0	205	68.33	117	1	1	1	0	2
Sialkot (Jinnah Stadium)	1	2	0	92	46.00	57	0	1	0	0	1
St John's (Antigua)	2	1	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	1	0	0
Sydney (SCG)	3	4	2	270	135.00	148*	1	1	0	0	2
The Oval, London	2	2	0	75	37.50	54	0	1	0	0	1
Wellington	2	4	0	219	54.75	113	1	1	0	0	2

Tendulkar's performance in each calendar year:

Year	Tests	Inns	NO	Runs	Ave	Hs	100s	50s	0s	90s	50+
1989	4	6	0	215	35.83	59	0	2	0	0	2
1990	7	10	1	373	41.44	119*	1	2	1	0	3
1991	2	4	0	78	19.50	40	0	0	0	0	0
1992	7	11	1	419	41.90	148*	3	0	2	0	3
1993	8	9	2	640	91.43	165	2	5	0	0	7
1994	7	11	1	700	70.00	179	2	3	0	1	5
1995	3	4	2	58	29.00	52*	0	1	0	0	1
1996	8	15	0	623	41.53	177	2	2	1	0	4
1997	12	17	1	1000	62.50	169	4	3	0	1	7
1998	5	9	1	647	80.88	177	3	1	0	0	4
1999	10	19	3	1088	68.00	217	5	4	3	0	9
2000	6	10	1	575	63.89	201*	2	1	0	1	3
2001	10	18	2	1003	62.69	155	3	6	0	1	9
2002	16	26	1	1392	55.68	193	4	5	3	1	9
2003	5	9	0	153	17.00	55	0	1	2	0	1
2004	1	1	1	73	-	73*	0	1	0	0	1

Tendulkar's pattern of scoring:

Opponent	Inns	NO	HS	0s	0-9	10-19	20-49	50-89	90-99	100-149	150-199	200-
Australia	34	3	177	4	10	7	5	6	0	4	2	0
Bangladesh	1	0	18	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
England	24	2	193	0	1	3	6	6	2	3	3	0
New Zealand	27	5	217	1	10	4	5	5	0	2	0	1
Pakistan	12	0	136	2	5	1	3	2	0	1	0	0
South Africa	26	1	169	1	10	4	6	2	1	1	2	0
Sri Lanka	16	2	148	0	2	3	2	2	1	6	0	0
West Indies	25	2	179	3	6	3	6	6	1	1	2	0
Zimbabwe	14	2	201*	1	2	0	6	3	0	1	1	1
TOTAL	179	17	217	12	46	26	39	32	5	19	10	2

Tendulkar's modes of dismissal:

Opponent	Inns	NO	B	CW	CF	C&B	HW	LBW	RO	St
Australia	34	3	3	7	12	1	0	8	0	0
Bangladesh	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
England	24	2	6	2	9	1	0	3	0	1
New Zealand	27	5	6	3	11	0	0	2	0	0
Pakistan	12	0	3	1	3	0	0	3	2	0
South Africa	26	1	2	5	15	0	0	2	1	0
Sri Lanka	16	2	4	1	8	0	0	1	0	0
West Indies	25	2	4	4	8	1	0	5	1	0
Zimbabwe	14	2	1	1	7	1	0	2	0	0
TOTAL	179	17	29	24	74	4	0	26	4	1

Tendulkar's nemeses:

Bowler	Team	Tot	B	CW	CF	C&B	HW	LBW	St
Cronje, W J	SA	5	0	1	3	0	0	1	0
Donald, A A	SA	5	2	1	1	0	0	1	0
McGrath, G D	Aus	5	1	1	0	0	0	3	0
Gillespie, J N	Aus	4	0	2	1	0	0	1	0
Lewis, C C	Eng	4	2	0	2	0	0	0	0
Saqlain Mushtaq	Pak	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	0
Warne, S K	Aus	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	0
Vettori, D L	NZ	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	0
Hoggard, M J	Eng	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
Price, R W	Zim	3	0	0	1	0	0	2	0
Nash, D J	NZ	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	0
Cuffy, C E	WI	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	0
Morrison, D K	NZ	3	0	2	1	0	0	0	0
Pushpakumara, K R	SL	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bishop, I R	WI	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
McMillan, B M	SA	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	0
Collins, P T	WI	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Tuffey, D R	NZ	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
McDermott, C J	Aus	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Whitney, M R	Aus	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Fleming, D W	Aus	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Muralitharan, M	SL	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Lawson, J J C	WI	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Jayasuriya, S T	SL	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Kasprowicz, M S	Aus	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Caddick, A R	Eng	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Symcox, P L	SA	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Waugh, M E	Aus	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Johnson, N C	Zim	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Kallis, J H	SA	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Walsh, C A	WI	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Pollock, S M	SA	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Streak, H H	Zim	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Anurasiri, S D	SL	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Sanford, A	WI	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Khan, Imran	Pak	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Cork, D G	Eng	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cairns, C L	NZ	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Benjamin, K C G	WI	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Dillon, M	WI	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Bichel, A J	Aus	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Schultz, B N	SA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ranchod, U	Zim	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Kalpage, R S	SL	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Hathurusingha, U C	SL	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Malcolm, D E	Eng	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Salisbury, I D K	Eng	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Tufnell, P C R	Eng	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Bracewell, J G	NZ	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Lee, B	Aus	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Fraser, A R C	Eng	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Williams, B A	Aus	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Waqar Younis	Pak	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Abdul Qadir	Pak	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wasim Akram	Pak	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Hemmings, E E	Eng	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Reiffel, P R	Aus	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Traicos, A J	Zim	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
MacGill, S C G	Aus	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Taylor, P L	Aus	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Williams, N F	Eng	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Madurasinghe, A W R	SL	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Reid, B A	Aus	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Wickremesinghe, G P	SL	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
White, C	Eng	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Hayward, M	SA	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Naimur Rahman	Ban	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
O'Connor, S B	NZ	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mushtaq Ahmed	Pak	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Shoaib Akhtar	Pak	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vaas, W P U J C	SL	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Dawson, R K J	Eng	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Giles, A F	Eng	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Nagamootoo, M V	WI	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Ntini, M	SA	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Murphy, B A	Zim	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Strang, P A	Zim	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Blignaut, A M	Zim	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Ealham, M A	Eng	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
McIntyre, P E	Aus	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Bond, S E	NZ	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Styris, S B	NZ	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Thomson, S A	NZ	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Hooper, C L	WI	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Wiseman, P J	NZ	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Dale, A C	Aus	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Doull, S B	NZ	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Vaughan, M P	Eng	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oram, J D P	NZ	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Adams, P R	SA	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Klusener, L	SA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Rose, F A	WI	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTAL	158	29	24	74	4	0	26	1