The game of cricket is being played for over a century and it is difficult to rate an innings the best. There are numerous wonderful innings and every innings has its own importance because the situation under which they were played varied. Some innings tests a batsman's physical toughness and then there are situations which needs mental strength . RoHIT Sharma's innings of 264 is undoubtedly a super innings. n But the best innings according to me was played by the best batsman in ODI ever Sachin Tendulkar italic against Pakistan italic on 1 st March 23 at Supersport ParkCenturion italic . n n It was a World Cup match and the pressure of an Ind vs Pak match is known to everyone. It gives goosebumps not just to the players but also to the millions of fans in both the country. India needed 274 from 3 balls. And the bowling attack of Pakistanprised of Wasim Akram Waquar Younis Shoaib Akhtar the best in the business. Their names are enough to break the confidence of the opponent. But not the confidence of this genius. He usually used to be at the non-striker's end when the Indian batting started. But this was a special match and so he decided to take strike . After watching a couple of balls carefully Wasim bowled one slightly short of a good-length. With lightning-fast footwork Tendulkar moved on to the back-foot and punched it past extra-cover for a boundary. A billion Indians crouched in front of the television cheered nervously waiting with bated breath for Wasimeback. 1st over India 9- Shoaib Akhtar shared the new ball with Wasim. n I am going to bowl really quick I am fired up and I will go flat out italic Akhtar had said one day before the match. . If I get my rhythm right I am not going to let the Indian batsmen have an easy time. italic Shoaib steamed in from his very very long run-up for his first over. His first five balls had three wides Tendulkar was back on strike. Shoaib pitched one outside off-stump. It was short. Tendulkar reached out for it. The ball flew almost impossibly over third-man for six. It went like a missile that not only brought six runs to the Little Master but shattered Pakistan confidence a long way. n n n This Tendulkar Six became an iconic six. 2nd over India 27- With the score on 126 for 2 Tendulkar suffered from cramps. For a while everything seemed to be fine. After a few minutes of massaging he was back to business hitting one from Razzaq straight past the bowler for four. However Tendulkar looked to be in difort once again stretching his legs to get things back to normal. He ran normally though and flicked one of the deliveries from Shahid Afridi past mid-wicket for a powerful four to bring up his 12th ODI run. nWith the score on 177 Tendulkar could not bear the pain anymore and Sehwag walked out as his runner. This was the first that Tendulkar had a runner in any format of the game . As Shoaib steamed in Tendulkar took guard two short of a well-deserved hundred. Shoaib attempted a bouncer; the ball was pitched short and darted at Tendulkar ribcage at express pace. The ball was probably a tad too quick for him. He tried to fend it off but the ball took the bat and lobbed to a diving Younis Khan at point. It was a fitting end to one of the greatest World Cup innings of all time italic . Dejected and crestfallen he walked back to the pavilion his bat held high to acknowledge the relentless cheer of the crowd which was elated at having witnessed batsmanship of this quality. Tendulkar 98 came off 75 balls. nTendulkar could not make a century but his 98 of 75 balls was good enough to bring India afortable victory. Dravid and Yuvraj made important contributions and took India home. Counting the amount of pressure and the confidence with which Tendulkar handled it and that too against a fierce bowling attack makes this innings the best. The Master Blaster himself counts this innings as his best. This was Tendulkar at his very best.