The 'Little Master' batted out the entire day at the Sydney Cricket Ground to be unconquered on 220 to have India at an impregnable 650 for five after the second day's play.

Tendulkar finally hit his straps in the last match of the series after an unproductive sequence of scores 0, 1, 37, 0 and 44 scoring only 153 runs in five Tests at an average of 17 throughout a dismal 2003.

It was a day of milestones, with Tendulkar's long-anticipated century this series finally arriving and was his 32nd Test hundred to join Steve Waugh, just two behind all-time leader Sunil Gavaskar.

Tendulkar said Waugh told him as they walked off the field at the end of the day's play: "He said 'it's fully deserved, you batted well'."

Tendulkar also eclipsed Ravi Shastri's 206 as the highest Indian score at the SCG, established 12 years ago, and his unbeaten 220 was his third Test double-century following his 217 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 1999-2000 and 201 against Zimbabwe in Nagpur in 2000-01.

On Friday's opening day, Tendulkar became only the fourth player to pass 9,000 runs in Test cricket.

That puts him behind only Australians Allan Border (11,174) and Steve Waugh (10,807) and fellow Indian Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) in most Test runs scored.

"It's a very good feeling, especially when you've not had a good series," Tendulkar said after Saturday's play.

"It was not that I wasn't batting well, I was just missing out on one particular ball instead of getting out snicking it.

"I knew a big innings was around the corner and it was just a matter of hanging in."

Tendulkar said it was an important knock because it was in Steve Waugh's final Test, his 168th.

"This innings was particularly important because being Steve's last Test, he'll always be remembered, and after having a series like this, to get runs it is very satisfying.

"I would put this particular innings right up there. Throughout the innings I maintained discipline and there were a couple of errors here and there.

"On a couple of occasions my judgement went wrong, so I thought if it was not working my way I needed to change something."

Tendulkar said he received the much-appreciated support of his teammates during his dark times earlier in the series.

"There were plenty of senior players who came to help me who said 'don't worry, it's just bad luck. One bad judgement was costing your wicket, so don't worry there's nothing wrong'.

"Many times you feel you are batting well, but sometimes you are the last one to realise something is going wrong, so I just asked my teammates and they supported me and I would like to thank each and every one for supporting me."

Tendulkar said he enjoyed watching the artistry of Laxman's batting during their seven hours together at the crease.

"The way he was batting I decided not to try to do what he was doing, I needed to do my job, he was a treat to watch, but his game is completely different to the way I had planned my innings," Tendulkar said.

"I was very happy to be at the non-striker's end and enjoy his innings."