Mumbai: Few can even dream of the heights that Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has scaled as he carried Indian cricket along with him to new peaks. Now as the cricket world waits with bated breath for the legend to sign off, bcci.tv asked another legend of the game, former India captain and commentator Sunil Manohar Gavaskar to pick out the master blaster’s five most memorable Test innings.

Before listing the five Tendulkar innings that stood out for him, India’s former opener who was the first to 10,000 runs said, “I have to first of course confess that I haven’t seen all his hundreds. So I might overlook those, which I have not seen. And I am not ranking them in any order I am just saying it out of the top of my head.”

Here are Gavaskar’s picks:

The maiden ton: His first century of course! (119* vs. England in the 2nd Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, August 1990. At 17 years and 112 days he became the youngest player to score a Test hundred) it came in a tough situation; India had to save the match as well. So the conditions were such, the wickets had fallen so somebody had to stay there and at the same time had to score runs. When you are scoring runs the opposition captain doesn’t keep to many close-in fielders. I think that was a very blend of caution and aggression.

A gritty display at the WACA: The hundred that he got at Perth (114 vs Australia – 5th Test, Western Australia Cricket Association Perth, February, 1992) which was about a year later when he was barely 19 on what was the fastest pitch in the world. To score runs when Australia were right on top, that would be my number two.

A calm knock to conquer Chennai: The third hundred would be the one he got in Chennai when India won in 2008 (103* vs England – 1st Test, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, December, 2008). When India had to score some 380 odd runs (387) on the last day and (Virender) Sehwag gave the team a good start but the knockout punch had to be given and that is what Sachin and Yuvraj (Singh) delivered and won the match.

A captain’s knock against the Proteas: He got a hundred in Cape Town (169 vs South Africa in the 2nd Test at Newlands in Cape Town, January 1997) when he and Mohammad Azharuddin had an incredible 200-run (222) partnership.

A match-winning innings in Kolkata: The one against the West Indies in Kolkata (176 vs West Indies in the 3rd Test from October 30 - November 3 2002 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the second innings). He got a hundred that is another top class innings. So these are the five hundreds that stand out in my memory.

On the reason to list out these five innings, Gavaskar said: “The situation. The situation was not easy, there was a bit of repair work, a bit of stabilising that needed to be done and to be able to do that and yet score at the rate that he did and the manner in which he did, demoralizing the bowlers and that was the huge difference.”

Discussing the master blaster’s batting further and what had changed as the years progressed Gavaskar observed, “The changes have been more in the back-lift. When he started he had a back-lift that was much more free. The pick-up was from second slip or something then I think he changed it to a shorter and much straighter one, very straight up, coming from above the off-stump. So, I think those were the changes I think I saw were made the immediate noticeable changes.”

“The adaptability is such a key factor in the game whether you are a bowler or a batsman. To be able to adapt to a given situation, conditions, opposition and pitch that is available. To read the situation well and then adjust your game accordingly, I think is the most important factor and you will find that most great players are able to do that consistently. When you keep these factors in mind, Sachin stands out as the greatest,” he concluded.