Photos: India Bids Adieu to 'Master Blaster,' 'God of Cricket' Sachin Tendulkar

November 14th, 2013

The teenage Sachin Tendulkar in Lahore, Pakistan in October 1989. (Ben Radford/Allsport/Getty Images)

England versus India in the second Test at Old Trafford, August 1990. Tendulkar is in the center. (Ben Radford/Getty Images)

November 1992: Sunil Gavaskar (L) and Tendulkar in Durban during India's tour of South Africa. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Tendulkar (C) shakes hands with Australian cricketers after the Indian victory against Australia in a final match in Sharjah on April 24, 1998. (Rabih Moghrabi/AFP/Getty Images)

Tendulkar celebrates reaching his century during day three of the Second Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

A young fan shows his support during the 2011 ICC World Cup Quarter Final match between Australia and India at Sardar Patel Stadium on March 24, 2011 in Ahmedabad. (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Tendulkar waves the tricolor while celebrating victory during the final of ICC Cricket world Cup 2011 match between India and Sri Lanka — Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on April 2, 2011. (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

Tendulkar poses holding the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy, with the Gateway of India in the backdrop, on April 3, 2011 in Mumbai. (Ritam Banerjee/Getty Images)

A spectator acknowledges Tendulkar's birthday during the IPL Twenty20 match between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on April 24, 2011. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images)

Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne (L) shares a moment with Mumbai Indians captain Tendulkar after Rajasthan's victory at the Swai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on April 29, 2011. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images)

Tendulkar signs autographs during his last match at the SCG, the One Day International match between Australia and India, at Sydney Cricket Ground on February 26, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Tendulkar reacts after scoring his hundred century during the one-day international (ODI) Asia Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 16, 2012. (Munir uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images)

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Emotions are running high as India bids adieu to its most beloved sporting icon, Sachin Tendulkar. The legendary cricketer (often hailed as the "God of Cricket," "Master Blaster," and "Little Master") is currently playing his 200th and final test match against the West Indies on his home turf in Mumbai. Even the normally even keeled Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh admitted that he's never witnessed this level of buzz surrounding a single player.

Tendulkar's career stats are impeccable (he has broken practically every major record for a batsman in cricket). Not only does he hold the record for the most runs in both formats of the sport (one-day matches and Tests), but he also achieved the extraordinary feat of scoring 100 centuries (i.e. hundred runs in one innings) in international matches, a record that is likely to stand the test of time.

Since his debut as a sixteen-year-old in 1989, Tendulkar has stoically shouldered the expectations of over a billion people, in a nation historically bereft of sporting heroes. After he guided his team to World Cup glory in 2011 (a milestone that had eluded him until then), his teammates did a lap of honor with him on their shoulders, with rising star Virat Kohli eloquently saying: "Sachin Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders."

Above, Asia Society takes a brief look at the iconic cricketer's career in pictures, in chronological order.