Calcutta: A billion-plus janata would have been happy with just seven runs from Sachin Tendulkar. Cricket’s tallest icon of the present times, though, gave India 168 more.

With it almost also came a memorable win over World Cup and Champions Trophy holders Australia.

Clearly, Sachin has reached a stage when numbers matter and, equally, don’t matter. There’s absolutely nothing left to prove, yes, but there are milestones to reach.

And, so, it was on Thursday evening.

It took Sachin 17 balls to get run No.7 (he got a three on that Ben Hilfenhaus delivery) and post another first, that of 17,000 runs in ODIs.

Coincidentally, Little Master I, Sunil Gavaskar, was doing the TV commentary when Sachin took guard at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

“He’s human and would like to get that run,” Gavaskar remarked, when Sachin was on 16,999. It took him four balls to get moving from run No.6, but the wait actually seemed endless.

Not that Sachin was over-anxious.

By all accounts, Sachin was rather relaxed going into the fifth ODI. Indeed, on the eve of the match, he took less than a minute to respond to an “all the best” message texted by The Telegraph.

Few, perhaps, remember that Sachin began his ODI career with a duck (caught Wasim Akram, bowled Waqar Younis), in December 1989. Since then, however, he’s put a very heavy price on his wicket.

Sachin’s standards being high — even at 36, he keeps raising the bar — the ongoing series had been quite ordinary till Thursday’s epic, that is.

For those obsessed with numbers, he hadn’t scored big after the tri-series final in Colombo (138), almost two months ago.

Yet, the reality is that Sachin’s presence alone makes a huge difference. Moreover, as the Australians witnessed for the umpteenth time, he can still almost pull off the impossible.

Shane Warne had nightmares, featuring Sachin, 11 years ago. Despite the narrow win, Ricky Ponting is unlikely to sleep well till he’s back in the comfort of his home, in Sydney.

Thanks, of course, to Sachin.

“One of the best knocks I’ve seen,” is how a relieved Ponting complimented Sachin. The emotionally-drained MoM himself acknowledged that the 175 (off a mere 141 deliveries) was “one of his best” innings.

The “Hungry Man Tendulkar” banner at the Stadium was apt.

As apt as what former India wicket-keeper and chief selector Kiran More observed recently: “How much more do we want from Sachin? He’s given 20 years and, from now on, everything from him should be seen as a bonus.”

While limited overs cricket is, for now, the flavour of the season, one shouldn’t forget that Sachin is the highest run-getter in Test cricket, too — 12,773 (159 matches).

Sachin the cricketer stands out, but Sachin the person is in a different league as well, and the newcomers need to learn much from him.

Whatever the provocation, for example, Sachin would never threaten professionals from other fields (or anybody, for that matter), as was done by a couple of players before the Nagpur ODI last week.

As a package, then, this grandfather (the term cheekily used by Yuvraj Singh, the other day) is exceptional. Fit enough to post his 45th ODI hundred, a wowing effort, and agile enough to take an outstanding catch, Cameron White’s off Praveen Kumar.

“I care about playing for India,” Sachin said, almost choking, at the presentation ceremony. Few wouldn’t have been moved by that.