A mythical statistic attributes one third of India's road accidents to drivers craning their neck out to catch a glimpse of Sachin Tendulkar reaching a century on a television set in a roadside shop.
Roads in India should be marginally safer for the pedestrians now that the man from Mumbai has got his 100th international century.
Industry bosses must curse him as India's biggest single cause for sudden falls in productivity levels. Every time Tendulkar nears the 100-mark, the world's second most populous nation comes to a standstill, almost as a ritual.
Since his 1989 Karachi debut, what the 38-year-old has accumulated is much more than scoring almost 34,000 international runs from 188 test matches, 462 one-dayers and one T20 international.
The curly-haired boy with a sing-song voice has acquired an aura that only grew over the last last couple of decades.
Some of his fans, and they are sizeable, have lost interest in the Don Bradman v Sachin Tendulkar debate.
They suggest it is rather Don v God.
Putting aside the obvious exaggeration, the great Australian once remarked that the diminutive Indian's batting reminded him of his own playing days and many feel the debate should rest there.
When it comes to accumalating runs, Tendulkar has established himself as the greatest cricketer of all time and if the bowlers he has tormented for over 22 years wanted to blame someone for his never-ending run spree, accusing fingers would be pointed at Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis.
Lillee for not entertaining then school student Tendulkar's request at a Chennai bowling academy to mould him into a fast bowler and instead advising him to work on his batting.
BLOOD-SOAKED SHIRT
Waqar for hitting Tendulkar on the mouth in the 1989 series in Pakistan where both made their debuts. The wunderkind batted with a blood-soaked shirt in that match and more than two decades since that incident, bowlers across the cricketing world continue to bleed boundaries to the little master.
Javed Miandad was part of the squad Tendulkar made his debut against and the former Pakistan skipper said he could sense he was watching someone very special.
"We had heard a lot about this teenager from Mumbai and there was lot of hype surrounding his debut in the Karachi test," Miandad told Reuters.
"He looked a good player but as the series progressed, we knew here was a great player in the making.
