London - Sachin Tendulkar succumbed nine short of an unprecedented 100th international century on the final day of the fourth Test against England at the Oval on Monday.
Tendulkar, 38, playing in what might be his final test innings in England, was lbw to the first ball of Tim Bresnan's second spell of the day for 91 in just under four hours.
The Indian maestro, who holds the record for test and one-day centuries and runs, stood at the crease in disbelief before walking slowly back to the pavilion to a standing ovation.
There are no reviews of lbw decision in this series because the Indian cricket authorities do not accept the ball-tracking technology but television replays showed the ball would have clipped the leg stump.
Tendulkar, who had scored only 182 runs in his seven previous innings this series with one half-century, got off the mark with an inadvertent four through gully off Graeme Swann from his opening delivery on Sunday evening.
Swann could have captured his wicket three overs before the close when wicketkeeper Matt Prior whipped the bails off with Tendulkar's back foot in the air. England did not appeal and Tendulkar ended the day on 35 not out.
On Monday he late cut his second ball from James Anderson to the boundary and deliberately upper cut the same bowler with the same result.
A square cut for four off Anderson, England's best bowler of the series, brought up his half-century from 74 balls and a second standing ovation from the crowd who had also applauded him all the way to the middle at the start of the day,
Stuart Broad troubled him outside the off stump, as he and Anderson have done all series, before Andrew Strauss summoned Ravi Bopara to the bowling crease.
Bopara, an open admirer of Tendulkar who modelled his batting style on the Indian maestro, served up a juicy half-volley which Tendulkar drove to the cover boundary with a full flow of his bat.
A shorter delivery was cut to the boundary and, although Strauss abandoned his ill-fated experiment after three overs, Tendulkar was now into his stride.
He was dropped at short-leg on 70 when Alastair Cook failed to hold a chance which hit him on the chest when an inside edge off Swann rebounded off the batsman's pad. Tendulkar received another life on 85 when Prior failed to hold a thick outside edge off the off-spinner.
Swann, unable to contain his frustration, made a frenzied appeal for lbw which Simon Taufel rejected and Strauss again opted to for a part-time bowler in Kevin Pietersen.
Pietersen's off-spin proved no more successful than Bopara's medium pace. Tendulkar pulled and swept two boundaries to move into the 90s.
He lost nightwatchman Amit Mishra, bowled by Swann for 84 after a fourth wicket stand of 144, and Bresnan took over from Pietersen.
Bresnan's first ball moved into Tendulkar, who played over the ball and was rapped on the pads. Umpire Rod Tucker upheld an exuberant England appeal.
Tendulkar could still reach his 100th century on English soil during India's five-match one-day series which begins on September 3.
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