ICC CWC Man of the Series - Sachin Tendulkar
For a nation in love with the game of cricket, India has won the prized ICC Cricket World Cup, only once in 1983.
Thereafter, it has made the semi-finals only twice more in 1987 and 1996.
But the closest India came to reprising their 1983 performance was in 2003 when they fell to the only team who had beaten them throughout the tournament, Australia.
India was clinical and professional right through the 2003 campaign. But it required the individual brilliance of one man, Sachin Tendulkar, to ensure that it weathered any storm calmly.
Tendulkar holds the record for the most runs, most centuries in the one-day international history and possibly every other record. In cricketing folklore, Tendulkar is often compared to the greatest ever Sir Don Bradman.
But there was always one thing that rankled the man himself, the lack of a World Cup crown in his lifespan as an India cricketer. When the opportunity arose in 2003, Tendulkar led the way in style.
He scored the most number of runs in ICC Cricket World Cup history in the 2003 edition logging a total of 673 runs in the tournament.
The tournament is best remembered for Tendulkar's epic knock against traditional rivals Pakistan in that tense high-voltage encounter at Centurion. It was going to be the last time Pakistan's famed Ws, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, were to square off against Tendulkar. It was Tendulkar who walked off with his head held high and with a memorable 98 off 75 balls during a cramp-affected knock.
Perhaps the most talked about shot in CWC history is the six that Tendulkar slashed over point off Shoaib Akhtar. For Tendulkar fans that was the knock which summed up his career.
Alongwith the effervescent Virender Sehwag, Tendulkar set the agenda for the experience of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The Indian team backed well by their pace attack, managed to get on a roll and looked unstoppable.
Tendulkar also played the role of a senior statesman during the tournament asking Indian fans to maintain calm following reactions to the loss to Australia in a league game. Tendulkar promised a change of fortunes and he delivered. But alas, Tendulkar?s dream came crashing in the mega final again, against Australia at the Wanderers.
Australia packed too much for the nervous Indian team and Tendulkar was a dejected man as Sir Garfield Sobers awarded him the Man of the Series Trophy.
Tendulkar?s dream was not realised in the 2007 edition as well, but he does possess the record for the most runs in CWC history (1796).
Tendulkar has all the numbers in one-day international history, including the first-ever double hundred. But it is that glittering trophy that he wants to own on the night of April 2, 2011, in his beloved hometown of Mumbai.