Tendulkar ends domestic career on high note

Sachin Tendulkar finished on 79 not out for Mumbai on Wednesday in a four-wicket win over Haryana in a Ranjit Trophy group match, his final domestic appearance.

Sachin Tendulkar finished his domestic cricket career on Wednesday in Mumbai's victory over Haryana. Duif du Toit / Gallo Images / Getty Images

On the final day of his final match in Indian domestic cricket, Sachin Tendulkar provided another fitting highlight for his retirement tour on Wednesday.

The 40 year old finished oin 79 not out and Dhawal Kulkarni knocked a four to put Mumbai over the top for a four-wicket win over Haryana in a Group A match for the Ranji Trophy, India’s domestic first class competition.

Mumbai, Tendulkar’s home town squad, needed just 39 runs when the day began, of which Sachin provided 25. He had been dismissed by Mohit Sharma in the first innings for only five, but top-scored for Mumbai in the second innings to go out on the right note.

“It was a challenging wicket, had a lot for the bowlers, was fun to bat on this. Slow outfield too, so it might be 240 on the paper, but it is 280 anywhere else. This is just the kind of outing I was looking for. It’s fun,” he said. “All about talking cricket, getting to know each other. It was all about keeping each other relaxed. The West Indies series will be a good one. Something I will be looking forward to. Hopefully we live up to people’s expectations. I want to thank the Haryana Cricket Association. I want to thank the security, the police did a great job. Thanks to the people of Lahli. Thank you everyone for making this match memorable for me.”

In first-class cricket during hiscareer, Tendulkar hit for 25,312 runs across 488 innings.

Zaheer Khan, also featuring for Mumbai, took four wicketsfor 62 in the second innings and one for 38 in the first.

Mumbai have seven more group matches in the Ranji Trophy, spanning through to January 2. They have won seven of the 14 tournaments since 1999/2000,