Exclusive : Sachin's 48 Test tons

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Year 2001

25th century: Sachin's 126 runs on March 20, 2001 were a major contribution in India's win against Australia at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

26th century: Even though India lost the match to South Africa, fans were still cheering Sachin who scored 155 runs.

27th century: On December 13, 2001, Tendulkar at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera played a fine innings against England and scored 103 runs which helped India draw the match.

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Year 2002

28th century: With a score of 176, Sachin was now just one century away from equaling Sir Don Bradman's 29 Test hundreds. This knock of his, helped India win against Zimbabwe at the Vidharbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur.

29th century: Sachin gave himself an early birthday present when on April 20, 2002, he equaled Sir Don Bradman's 29 Test tons. It was time for a double celebration as India also won that match against West Indies at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.

30th century: Sachin narrowly missed out on a double century this time when he got out at a score of 193 against England at Headingley in Leeds on August 23, 2002. But on the brightside, India won the match because of his contribution.

31st century: Another big score by Sachin. He made 176 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 3, 2002 playing against the visiting West Indians.

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Year 2004

32nd century: Scoring a mammoth unbeaten 241 against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on January 4, 2004, it was the beginning of a high scoring year for him. This was his highest Test score yet.

33rd century: A controversial decision by the then captain Rahul Dravid to declare the innings, cost Sachin from reaching another double hundred score. India declared their innings with Sachin at a score of 194 with just 6 more runs to reach what would have been his 4th double ton.

34th century: Nine months later he finally got his fourth double ton when he slammed an unbeaten 248 runs against Bangladesh during the first Test in Dhaka. He celebrated his double ton with another milestone as he equalled Sunil Gavaskar's Test record of 34 centuries. It was indeed a proud moment for the two Little Masters, who are great admirers of each other.

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Year 2005

35th century: It took Sachin exactly a year to surpass his idol Gavaskar. In 2005, Sachin played six Tests making 444 runs. He missed out on a hundred against Pakistan in Mohali when he was dismissed for 94 runs. And then there was a long wait..

On December 10, 2005 in New Delhi, he got his 35th Test ton against Sri Lanka. He contributed 109 to India's 290 on a tricky Kotla track where Muralitharan was at his wily best. As they say all's well that ends well, India won the match by a big margin of 188 runs.

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Year 2007

He started the year on a decent note when he hit a fifty in the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town.

36th century: He next toured to Bangladesh for a two-Test match series. He hit 101 in a rain-hit first Test at Chittagong.

37th century: Sachin hit back-to-back centuries in the series. In the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, he raised his 37th ton with an unbeaten knock of 122 runs. Three other Indians made centuries in the same match - Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik and Rahul Dravid. However, Sachin walked away with the 'Man of the Series'.