As Sachin Tendulkar made his way to the media conference after India beat South Africa in the second one-day international here last night, a group of enthusiasts yelled, "we have seen our God."

Busy signing a few autographs, Tendulkar smiled at them and said, "I'm not God. I'm just a human being."

He then told MiD DAY that despite the term used to praise him, he understood the fans' emotions and was grateful for their support. At the press conference, he was calm and as usual, thought about each word he uttered.

Hunger
He showed the kind of hunger he has when he said, "It feels good that I lasted for 50 overs, a good test of my fitness. I'd like to bat another 50 overs at some stage and see that the fitness level doesn't drop."

In the commentary area, Ravi Shastri emphasised that it was a "flawless" knock from the batting master and how it was a better innings that the 175 he scored against Australia in Hyderabad last year.

Arun Lal, the former India batsman said, "It is very difficult to play like this in gully cricket."

Even after scoring 401, Tendulkar stressed that the Indians did not get complacent. "South Africa that chased 434 against Australia so we didn't get complacent. What we did in the second half was important."

To say Tendulkar toyed with the South African bowlers would be an understatement but the Mumbai star made a huge statement with his level of consistency.

And the cricketing world could only stand and applaud.