"Time to raise the bat and acknowledge the crowd" - Cricketing fraternity celebrates batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar's 50th birthday

The cricketing world has sent in their wishes for former Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar on his 50th birthday. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya and Ajinkya Rahane, among others, wished the batting maestro on his birthday.

Sachin Tendulkar's career in a nutshell

Having made his debut in 1989 as a 16-year-old, the elegant right-handed batter went on to break numerous records by the time he finished his career in 2013. The 50-year-old is the recipient of some of the major batting records, including most Test runs (15921), most ODI runs (18426), most Test centuries (51), and most ODI centuries (49). Tendulkar's 24-year-old career meant that he also holds the record for most appearances in Test and ODI cricket, with 200 and 463, respectively.

Tendulkar also has an enviable record in 50-over World Cups as has played in six editions, a record he shares with former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad. With 2278 runs in 45 matches at 56.95, his numbers are comfortably better than any batter in the world. He has six centuries in 50-over World Cups, the joint-most by any cricketer.

The Mumbai-born batter was the top run-getter in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa as India reached the final, where a ruthless Australia beat them by 125 runs. The former Indian captain's tally of 673 runs in 11 games is the most by any player in a single World Cup and he averaged 61.18 during the competition. Tendulkar achieved his dream of winning the World Cup in 2011 when the Men in Blue beat Sri Lanka in the final.

The star batter is also the first male cricketer to hit a double-hundred in 50-over international cricket, doing so against South Africa in 2010 in Gwalior.

As far as Test cricket goes, the cricketing icon is the only player to feature in 200 matches. He scored his 50th hundred against South Africa at the Centurion in 2011. The former captain brought up his 100th international ton a year later against Bangladesh in Mirpur; however, it ended in a crushing loss for India. Tendulkar continued to play for the Mumbai Indians in 2013 and now works as their mentor. He captained the franchise to the final in 2010.