Before going into his farewell series, Tendulkar spoke to the BCCI and requested that its board agree to his 'only request'

Even after eight years, Sachin Tendulkar’s final visual from his final match still makes his fans emotional. Having played 200 Test matches for India and scored over 33,000 runs and 100 centuries, Tendulkar retired from international cricket in November of 2013.

An audience of celebrities attended Tendulkar’s final Test in Mumbai, his hometown. In his final innings, he scored 74 runs and a fitting farewell was given by the entire stadium and millions watching on TV once Mohammed Shami picked up his last wicket. On a final visit to the pitch, an emotional Tendulkar cried and paid his respects. Besides the fact that it was Tendulkar’s last match, another reason for his emotional outburst was that for the first time in his career, his mother was sitting in the stands. In a recent interview, Tendulkar reveals that, in preparation for his farewell series, he gave the BCCI his ‘only request’. ”My only request and wish are that I play my last match in Mumbai so that my mother can attend my last game. I told the BCCI before I played my last match that these two matches would be my last. She has seen me play in person only once in 24 years, so they graciously agreed to host my last game in Mumbai,” Tendulkar stated during a recent interaction with Graham Bensinger.

“I couldn’t believe it. My last game was in Mumbai. The whole stadium was watching her reaction when they screened her on that mega-screen. In any case, I was emotional, and emotion makes it hard to stay focused. Those last six balls were crucial, but what I saw on the mega-screen was also crucial,” Tendulkar concluded.