Sydney awaits Sachin's historic 100th ton

Having once again come up short in his attempt to notch up his milestone 100th hundred in the first Test against Australia in Melbourne, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar will be now setting his sights on the Sydney Cricket Ground, where he has plundered runs on his previous four tours starting from the 1991-92 visit.

However, Tendulkar looked in sublime touch in the first of four Tests with scores of 73 and 32 before falling to pacer, Peter Siddle on both occasions.

Statistically, Tendulkar averages more in Australia (58.53) than at home (53.30) against the same opponents. Six of Tendulkar's 11 hundreds against Australia have come away from home. He is followed by Laxman, who has scored four centuries in Australia.

But the significance of his record cannot be measured in numbers alone. If Tendulkar's first century (148 in Sydney) on his maiden Australian tour in 1991 showed a glimpse of what the world could expect from that 18-year-old wonder kid, his last one at the same venue (241 not out) was a testament to his longevity in the game.

In fact, Tendulkar's love affair with the SCG, which is also called Sachin Cricket Ground by many of his followers, is well known. He has only been dismissed three times in seven innings at the ground and has a staggering average of 221.33

Tendulkar has termed the SCG as his "favourite ground" outside India and hoped to continue his love affair with the stadium in the second cricket Test against the home side.

"The SCG has obviously been my favourite ground away from India," Tendulkar said. "It's a terrific ground, a special place. I love the atmosphere. It's wonderful. There are these certain grounds where you walk out there feeling you're going to do well and the SCG is one of those grounds where I feel comfortable," he was quoted as saying recently.

Of the 59 venues where Tendulkar has played Test cricket in his illustrious 22-year-old career, the batting ace has only averaged better at Dhaka and Mirpur in Bangladesh.

SCG has always had a special place in Tendulkar's career but it remains to be seen whether he can achieve the elusive 100th international century at his favourite overseas ground, which probably would be his last Test in Sydney.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is also confident that his ex-teammate will come back strongly against the Aussies in the second Test.

"Tendulkar has always been very highly rated in this part of the world - one can say everywhere - but I just get a feeling that when one comes to this country, the excitement with him has been just that more every time and, to be honest, his batting just goes one notch higher on the hard, bouncy pitches," he said.

Ganguly said as Tendulkar gets ready to play on his favourite ground, the SCG, next week all fans will have their fingers crossed when he walks out to bat.