The sporting world will farewell of one of its all-time greats this weekend as Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar plays his 200th and last Test. Widely acknowledged as the greatest player of all time other than legendary Australian batsman Sir Don Bradman, Tendulkar has been a mainstay of the Indian cricket side since debuting as a 16-year-old way back in 1989. His record of 200 Tests is simply phenomenal and is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon, if ever, while the fact that he has managed to averaged over 53 in that time is a stunning achievement. The 40-year-old is idolized in India and the eyes of the nation will all be on him when he walks out against the West Indies from Thursday.
The English Premier League is on break this weekend but there is plenty of international action to keep us entertained and while many countries are gearing up for friendlies, there remain some World Cup spots to be decided. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are yet to book their place and face a tricky two legs against Sweden to determine who progresses and who is left out in the cold, France will be looking to avoid a disaster against Ukraine, Greece and Romania play an interesting tie while Croatia should be far too strong for Iceland.
In England, the Rugby League World Cup has reached the quarter-finals stage and we can expect Australia, New Zealand and England to all progress with ease. The one match of interest will be Samoa’s clash with Fiji. This promises to be one brutal clash with both sides known for putting on some massive hits. Packed with NRL stars, the winner will progress to a semi-final berth with Australia but just getting that far will be considered a huge success. For the record, we like what we’ve seen so far from the Fijians.
There is also plenty of NBA and NFL action to keep us busy while Sebastian Vettel will be looking to make it eight wins in a row when the Formula 1 season heads to the United States.
Good luck and good punting.
