By Paresh Soni

By reaching 10,000 Test runs against Pakistan in Calcutta, Sachin Tendulkar underlined his place among the all-time greats.

Tendulkar remains a major scalp for any fielding side

In doing so, he emulated fellow Indian Sunil Gavaskar, Australians Allan Border and Steve Waugh and West Indies captain Brian Lara.

But just how good is he compared with them? And how much more can he achieve in Test cricket?

Tendulkar's average of 57.61 is comfortably the best, he is level with Gavaskar in terms of centuries, and has scored more hundreds away from home (19) than anyone else.

India have won 37 of the 121 matches he has played in, a record which is inferior to that of Waugh and Border.

But Waugh had the advantage of playing in one of the greatest teams ever to take the field - yet still took the most number of innings to get to 10,000 runs.

Border was also much slower to the milestone, making 27 centuries in his 235 innings.

Still only 31, it seems inevitable that Tendulkar will overtake him and become the most prolific run-scorer in history.

THE 10,000-RUN CLUB
	TESTS	RUNS	AVE	100s	WINS
Border	156	11,174	50.56	27	56
Waugh	168	10,927	51.06	32	86
Gavaskar	125	10,122	51.12	34	23
Lara	112	10,094	52.84	26	31
Tendulkar	122	10,025	57.61	34	37

His eventual total of centuries, assuming he stays fit and in form, will take some beating.

But it is difficult to imagine Tendulkar playing on till the age of 39, like Border did, or as long as Waugh and Gavaskar - who both quit the Test scene at 38.

Judging by the last two years, the portents are not good.

Tendulkar amassed more than half his Test runs between 1997 and 2002 when he was at the height of his powers.

But surgery on his hand and tennis elbow have subsequently kept him out for long periods.

And his painstaking 241 not out in Sydney in January 2004 was the first time he had reached three figures in 14 months.

The Don named Tendulkar in his dream XI shortly before his death

Two more big innings have followed - unbeaten knocks of 194 in Multan and 248 against Bangladesh last year.

However, as we have seen in the current series against Pakistan, this is not the Tendulkar that used to dominate bowling attacks with consummate ease.

The ugly shot which saw him caught behind off Shahid Afridi in Calcutta was not that of a player at the top of his form.

The national team, which he pulled out of the mire on many occasions, has become less dependant on him.

Unthinkable as it may have seemed a couple of years ago, Rahul Dravid is now seen by some bowlers as the prize scalp in the Indian team.

In fact, it is on the cards that the 32-year-old vice-captain will himself reach the 10,000-run club in the next couple of years.

None of this denies Tendulkar's status as one of cricket's legends.

Indeed, comparisons with the late great Sir Donald Bradman have been part and parcel of his career - The Don even said Tendulkar was the closest modern equivalent to him.

For now, Tendulkar's adoring public have another reason to celebrate.

For the future, if he manages to stay fit for a few more years, Tendulkar will surely, at least statistically, have established himself as the greatest run machine of them all.