Tendulkar falls short in chase for 100th international century

 Sachin Tendulkar fell short in his quest to complete a 100th international century as India beat the West indies by five wickets in the first Test in Delhi.

The batsman, dubbed the 'Little Master' was 33 not out overnight and raced to 76 as he chased down the landmark but was then dismissed by spinner Devendra Bishoo.

Tendulkar has been stuck on 99 hundreds since March but did become the first player to score 15,000 runs in Test match cricket on Tuesday. He is also the highest run scorer in one day international cricket.

Despite the 38-year-old' being trapped LBW, India needed just over one session to reach their winning target, finishing on 276-5 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

After VVS laxman's unbeaten 55 took India to their target, captain MS Dhoni told reporters Tendulkar would soon reach the milestone.

"The media are putting pressure on him," he said in a press conference. "Let him score his hundred and he will do at some point in time. He is pretty good at doing that and he will do it. Let him score the hundred without pressure.

"If you are talking about the gentleman, expectations of him by the people have been high as (Mount) Everest. Since his second year in international cricket he has been the star.

Expectations of him by the people have been high as (Mount) Everest
MS Dhoni on Sachin Tendulkar

"When he goes to a cricket field and scores 50, people say he has not scored runs and it has been like this each and every day.

"And what we have seen is that any individual, when he reaches a milestone, he may take a little bit more time than usual. But I think it's around the corner."

The second Test begins in Kolkata on Monday.

Elsewhere, South Africa took full advantage of helpful bowling conditions to reduce Australia to 214-8 in the first Test in Cape Town.

The tourists were grateful to captain Michael Clarke's unbeaten 107 to take them past the 200 mark. Shaun Marsh (44) and Mitchell Johnson (20) were the only other players to reach double figures on a rain-affected day in South Africa.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn was the stand out performer for the hosts, taking four wickets, including the scalp of former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting.

Vernon Philander took three wickets as only 55 overs were possible on the opening day due to the weather.