On this day: Sachin Tendulkar becomes first batsman to complete 15,000 ODI runs

Cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has many nicknames; Master Blaster, Little Master, God of cricket. And these nicknames are a product of the highly productive cricket career that the batting legend experienced during the 24-year period when he played international cricket before retiring in 2013.

Tendulkar, the name became synonymous with batting records during his career, with the 47-year-old still holding the biggest of them.

Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 15,000 runs on 29 June, 2007 in an ODI against South Africa. Image: Twitter/@ICC

With 18,426 runs in ODIs and 15,921 in Tests, Tendulkar is the highest run-getter in both the formats. He also holds the record for most centuries in both the formats with 49 in ODIs and 51 in Tests. He was the first player to breach the 200-run mark in ODIs and also holds the record for playing in most number of ODIs (463) and Test matches (200).

In fact, he is the only cricketer to even breach the 15,000-runs barrier in ODIs. Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara came closest to the milestone with 14,234 runs in 404 matches before hanging up his boots. Virat Kohli with 11,867 runs is well-placed to become the second batsman to do so, or even to take over the record of highest run-scorer in ODIs, but we will talk about it when the time comes.

Today is the day to celebrate Tendulkar becoming the first batsman to score 15,000 runs in 50-over cricket as it was exactly on this day in 2007 when the legend reached the landmark. He brought up the milestone en route to his match-winning innings against South Africa in the second ODI of the Future Cup in Belfast.

India had lost the first match of the series and needed a win the second match to stay alive in the contest. Batting first, the Proteas amassed 226/6 with Morne van Wyk slamming 82 and Mark Boucher making 55 not out.  In reply, Sourav Ganguly (42) and Tendulkar (93) gave India a flying start with Yuvraj Singh chipping in with a useful 49 not out as the Men in Blue cruised to a six-wicket win. Tendulkar deservedly won the Man of the Match award after India's victory.

India would also later go on to win the series with another six-wicket win in the third and final ODI.