Calcutta: After adding another feather — 17,000 runs in one-day International — to his already enviable cap, Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar Thursday said that he was happy to have the honour of representing the country in international cricket for 20 years.

Tendulkar, who needed seven runs to reach the milestone before Thursday’s fifth ODI against Australia in Hyderabad, achieved the feat during his 141-ball 175, which went in vain as the hosts lost by a narrow margin of three runs.

“It’s the passion of representing India in international cricket that keep me motivated all the time. It’s always a dream to represent my country. I am absolutely honoured to do that for the last 20 years,” Tendulkar said.

His innings was adorned with 19 glorious hits to the fence and four towering sixes.

“It’s one of my best innings,” remarked the genius.

However, Tendulkar, who notched up his 45th ODI century Thursday, was disappointed with the narrow loss.

“We started off very well… There was a good partnership between Suresh (Raina) and me at one point of time. But we lost few crucial wickets and also the game itself. So it’s disappointing at the end of the day,” Tendulkar said.

He was also all praise for youngster Raina, who scored run-a-ball 59 and shared a 137-run fifth wicket partnership with the Tendulkar.