.. Australian Ricky  Ponting leads applause
(REUTERS)-Sachin Tendulkar said “using his body cleverly” had helped him become the first man to score 14,000 Test runs yesterday.
The 37-year-old Indian right-hander backed away to cut Australia off spinner Nathan Hauritz crisply to the boundary, taking him to the milestone in his 171st Test and triggering euphoria in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The crowd kept roaring and Tendulkar acknowledged the thunderous reception with a raised bat as his team mates in the pavilion rose to clap for him.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting (12,178), the second highest run scorer in Tests, came forward to applaud his Indian rival in the final session of the second Test.
“Last 20 years I have pushed myself really hard… challenges are always going to be there for me. All I need to do is to focus as hard as possible, work on my fitness, lead a disciplined life and use my body cleverly,” an elated Tendulkar told Neo Cricket channel.
“When I started playing, I didn’t think of all these things. God has been really kind. I’m enjoying every moment.”
Since his 1989 debut in Pakistan, Tendulkar has come a long way, amassing more than 31,000 international runs, including 94 centuries.
Tendulkar, named ICC Player of the Year four days ago, has enjoyed a prolific season with more than 1,000 Test runs in 2010.
Asked if things have changed for him in the last 10 years, Tendulkar said: “Nothing has changed. (I am) finding the centre of the bat and enjoying the game.
“There was a phase in between when, because of injuries and lot of other things, it was little difficult to move the way I wanted to. Now it’s been good.”

The leading all-time runscorers in Test cricket:
Rank Player Country Span Runs
1. Sachin Tendulkar (India) 1989- 14,017
2. Ricky Ponting (Australia) 1995- 12,178
3. Brian Lara (West Indies) 1990-2006- 11,953
4. Rahul Dravid (India) 1996- 11,581
5. Allan Border (Australia) 1978-1994 11,174
6. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 1995- 11,126
7. Steve Waugh (Australia) 1985-2004 10,927
8. Sunil Gavaskar (India) 1971-1987- 10,122
9. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) 1997- 9,408
10. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) 1994- 8,969