Five days short of his 29th birthday, Sachin Tendulkar made his 29th Test hundred and drew level with The Don. Appropriately, Tendulkar dedicated it to the person who has had more influence on him than any other: his father, Ramesh, a down-to-earth Marathi professor who taught Sachin the value of hard work and humility, and who died when Sachin was away playing for India during the 1999 World Cup. "He would have loved it." Tendulkar reached his feat in his 93rd Test, Sunil Gavaskar had done it in 95. Bradman was typically Bradmanesque: he did it 51. It means a lot to Tendulkar. After missing out on the milestone at Guyana, a close friend is said to have asked Tendulkar whether he had managed any sleep that night. No, came the reply. He hates missing out. It may sound trite, but when he says that it's "nice to know that my name is going to be with Sir Don's," he means it.

It was Tendulkar's first century in the West Indies. He now has at least one in each country, apart from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The last two he will get, the first he probably won't be allowed to. When he toured England in 1990, he had raised his hand to open against Derbyshire so that he could bat against Ian Bishop. Facing a West Indian fast bowler is the truest test of them all, he had grown up believing. In that particular innings, he had gone from 98 to 104 by hooking Bishop into a tree. Seven years later he toured the Windies and did exceedingly well without making a century. "Last time, I missed three centuries in the West Indies so this time it was on my mind. While growing up, you saw so much exciting cricket in the West Indies. As a batsman you want to go there and score runs."

As has been the case in recent times, he had a tedious and tense time in the nineties, using 32 balls to move from 94 to 100. In terms of fluency, today's 113 not out was far removed from the splendid 79 at Guyana. "Different match, different mental frame, different wicket... you know, everyday it can't be the same thing... if your feet are not moving well or your bat swing is not going well then you just got to hang around and wait for your time to come."

There had been one very, very close lbw shout from Mervyn Dillon and a few edges in the dying moments of the day that didn't carry to the slip fielders. Carl Hooper felt that the bowlers "let him escape." Still, runs are runs. More than anything, it has been Tendulkar's consistency that has boggled the mind. He now averages almost 70 over the last three years and rarely ever fails. He hasn't quite had his fill. "I just want to continue... do less talking and more batting."

So, how far does he want to go, Tendulkar? "As far as possible. When I started playing I never thought about how far I want to go. I just wanted to go out and play, enjoy." He means more business nowadays, but you can tell he enjoys it.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India. His reports will appear here throughout the Test series.

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