Having survived calls for his retirement from international cricket last year, Sachin Tendulkar underlined just why he is regarded as one of the best batsmen ever to play the game as he surpassed Brian Lara's Test runs world record.

Retired West Indies captain Lara accumulated an astounding 11,953 runs during his illustrious career, and Tendulkar has proved his class by overtaking Lara and snatching this truly remarkable record.

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The 35-year-old's place in the history books was already assured but this record reinforces his reputation as a true great of the sport.

Thanks to his ability to score runs with apparent ease on any pitch and in any part of the world, Tendulkar now proudly holds four major batting records and is undoubtedly a master of the game in both one-day and Test cricket.

The diminutive batsman currently holds the record for the most hundreds in both the Test and ODI formats, and in 2000 he became the first batsman to score 50 international centuries - the first of which came at the age of only 17.

The signs were clearly there that Tendulkar had something special, even in the early stages of his career.

His Test debut came against Pakistan at the age of only 16, and it could hardly have been a more intimidating prospect.

Having been struck in the face by a Waqar Younis bouncer, the youngster could have been excused for going to pieces, but that is clearly not in Tendulkar's nature.

Instead, the man affectionately known as the 'Little Master' by his fans, dug in and continued to bat, ignoring any pending concerns about his blood-soaked shirt.

That innings marked out the young Tendulkar as someone to watch in future years, and sure enough the man from Mumbai has not disappointed.

He went on to be named Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 1997 - two years after the award had been presented to Lara.

Tendulkar has also been presented with a host of accolades by the Indian government, including becoming the first cricketer to be awarded the country's highest sporting honour - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1997.

The consistently brilliant Tendulkar was the leading run-scorer at the 1996 World Cup and he landed the player-of-the-tournament award at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, scoring 693 runs in the process.

Despite a less than impressive performance on the whole for India at the 2007 World Cup, the cricketing world then witnessed a spectacular return to form by Tendulkar, proving his resilience and determination to succeed.

The precision batsman was named man of the series against Bangladesh in 2007 and then claimed the honour again in the Future Cup against South Africa later the same year.

Tendulkar's fluid strokes and prodigious ability to score runs in all conditions prompted West Indies great Sir Viv Richards to call him "99.5% perfect", and Sir Donald Bradman, the man widely regarded as the best batsman in the history of the game, once remarked that Tendulkar "reminds me of myself" - and there are few accolades greater than that.

And it is not just batting legends that have recognised Tendulkar's natural gift to perform at the highest possible level.

Shane Warne, the Australian king of spin, said last year Tendulkar would sit pretty at the top of his greatest cricketers list, ahead of the likes of Brian Lara and Warne's fellow compatriots Ricky Ponting and Allan Border.

In 2008, Tendulkar's home-based side the Mumbai Indians made him their captain and Icon Player for their campaign in the Indian Premier League.

Over the years it would have been easy for Tendulkar to buckle under the pressure of public expectation where anything short of a century tends to draw concern from many Indian supporters. But no-one can argue with Tendulkar's unrivalled commitment and catalogue of achievements that have drawn respect and admiration from all corners of the globe.

Tendulkar may be entering the final chapter of his formidable career, but it will most definitely take an effort of gigantic proportions for anyone to even come close to wresting this latest record away from him.

Tendulkar factfile:

Born: 24 April 1973, Bombay, India
Test debut: 15 November 1989: v Pakistan
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Batting style Right-handed

Leading run scorers:

SR Tendulkar (India) 12,000+
BC Lara (West Indies) 11,953
AR Border (Australia) 11,174
SR Waugh (Australia) 10,927
R Dravid (India) 10.302
RT Ponting (Australia) 10,239
SM Gavasker (India) 10,122