Shivnarine Chanderpaul will play his 150th Test when the second Test begins on Thursday and the senior West Indies cricketer today said it will be a privilege to reach the milestone during a match which will also see batting great Sachin Tendulkar bring down curtains on his illustrious career after his 200th and final appearance.
"It is not everyday that someone gets to a 150th Test match, so it is a milestone for me. I am looking forward to it. Also Sachin is playing his 200th Test match, so would be honoured to be a part of it also," Chanderpaul told reporters here.
The 39-year old praised Tendulkar and said people can learn a lot from the Indian batsman.
"It has been a privilege to be here and Sachin playing his 200th Test match. We have watched him over the years. There is so much (to learn) playing against him. Watching from the other side," he said.
"It is always a joy to look at him bat even though he is batting against us. There is so much you can learn from a legend like him. He is a master of batting. His art, his skill and looking at him you can learn a lot."
The left-handed batsman recollected the India tour in 1994 and said that the bowlers found it difficult to bowl to Tendulkar.
"In 1994 when we came here, he was batting, and in the beginning he was a little bit out of nick. He got some runs against New Zealand and then after that we couldn't figure out where to bowl to him.
"Some guys were saying that sometimes we probably need to bowl a little wider, he hit them for four. If you bowl him close, he still hit them for four. So where do we bowl him. We couldn't work out a way to bowl him, we were just hoping he would get out somehow," he said.
The Guyanese player said he never expected he would reach this far in international cricket.
"I never thought I would get this far in the beginning. Who knows where you can go, if you keep persisting," he said.
