Superstar Sachin Tendulkar carved his name into the record books again on Sunday when he became the first man to make five World Cup centuries as India piled up 338 against England.
Tendulkar, playing in a sixth World Cup, made 120 and nipped ahead of compatriot Sourav Ganguly and Australian duo Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting on four centuries. It was also his 47th career ODI hundred.
The 37-year-old 'Little Master' faced 115 balls and smashed 10 fours and five sixes in the Group B match at a packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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Tendulkar struck Paul Collingwood for two sixes, the second of which took him to a 66-ball fifty, before going on to reach his century off 103 balls when he glanced Tim Bresnan for four.
He also shared a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir (51) while Yuvraj Singh smashed 58.
James Anderson eventually dismissed Tendulkar with Michael Yardy taking the catch, but it was the seamer's only success on a grim afternoon when he finished with 1-91, the worst World Cup performance by an England bowler.
Bresnan was England's most successful bowler with 5-48 in a game where England were looking to overturn a miserable record of having won just one of their past 12 meetings against India on Indian soil.
"I think that's a great score. I think our batsmen gave us a good start," said Yuvraj.
"I think 340 is a good score to defend. It's turning and it's got good bounce."
The build-up to Sunday's game had been plagued by violence which had seen fans, desperate for tickets, baton-charged by police.
The ground in Bangalore holds 38,000 people but around 30,000 of the tickets were reserved for associations, clubs and commercial partners.
"What is unfortunate is that too few tickets go to the public as a general sale," admitted International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
"No matter what sort of capacity we provide, the truth is that we won't have enough seats for the demand that we have on our hands."
"The rush for the tickets is an indication of the popularity of the 50-over format and the passion fans, especially in India, have for the game of cricket."
Meanwhile, Pakistan sit proudly on top of Group A after an 11-run win over Sri Lanka on Saturday in Colombo gave them two wins in two matches.
Captain Shahid Afridi anchored the win with figures of 4-34 to restrict Sri Lanka -- chasing Pakistan's score of 277-7 -- to 266-9 at R. Premadasa stadium.
"It's a very big win for us," said Afridi, who also completed 300 one-day wickets in his 314th one-day international. "This will raise the morale of the players."
There was a minor setback for the Pakistanis on Sunday when they were fined 10 per cent of their match fee for a slow over-rate while Afridi was hit with a 20 per cent sanction.
Tendulkar, playing in a sixth World Cup, made 120 and nipped ahead of compatriot Sourav Ganguly and Australian duo Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting on four centuries. It was also his 47th career ODI hundred.
The 37-year-old 'Little Master' faced 115 balls and smashed 10 fours and five sixes in the Group B match at a packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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Tendulkar struck Paul Collingwood for two sixes, the second of which took him to a 66-ball fifty, before going on to reach his century off 103 balls when he glanced Tim Bresnan for four.
He also shared a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir (51) while Yuvraj Singh smashed 58.
James Anderson eventually dismissed Tendulkar with Michael Yardy taking the catch, but it was the seamer's only success on a grim afternoon when he finished with 1-91, the worst World Cup performance by an England bowler.
Bresnan was England's most successful bowler with 5-48 in a game where England were looking to overturn a miserable record of having won just one of their past 12 meetings against India on Indian soil.
"I think that's a great score. I think our batsmen gave us a good start," said Yuvraj.
"I think 340 is a good score to defend. It's turning and it's got good bounce."
The build-up to Sunday's game had been plagued by violence which had seen fans, desperate for tickets, baton-charged by police.
The ground in Bangalore holds 38,000 people but around 30,000 of the tickets were reserved for associations, clubs and commercial partners.
"What is unfortunate is that too few tickets go to the public as a general sale," admitted International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
"No matter what sort of capacity we provide, the truth is that we won't have enough seats for the demand that we have on our hands."
"The rush for the tickets is an indication of the popularity of the 50-over format and the passion fans, especially in India, have for the game of cricket."
Meanwhile, Pakistan sit proudly on top of Group A after an 11-run win over Sri Lanka on Saturday in Colombo gave them two wins in two matches.
Captain Shahid Afridi anchored the win with figures of 4-34 to restrict Sri Lanka -- chasing Pakistan's score of 277-7 -- to 266-9 at R. Premadasa stadium.
"It's a very big win for us," said Afridi, who also completed 300 one-day wickets in his 314th one-day international. "This will raise the morale of the players."
There was a minor setback for the Pakistanis on Sunday when they were fined 10 per cent of their match fee for a slow over-rate while Afridi was hit with a 20 per cent sanction.