I converted stones thrown at me to milestones: Sachin Tendulkar

Taking a dig at critics clamouring for his retirement, Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said he converted stones thrown at him into milestones.

"People sometimes throw stones and you converted them into milestones," Tendulkar said after surpassing West Indian legend Brian Lara's earlier record 11,953 Test runs.

The master batsman, however, said becoming Test cricket's highest run-getter was the biggest achievement of his career.

"It is definitely the biggest achievement in 19 years of my career. It can't happen overnight. The journey has been fantastic with ups and downs. It was a process of success," he said. Tendulkar said he wanted not to think of the record much but it (the thought) kept on creeping in his subconscious mind.

"I wanted to shift the focus on cricket and not think of the record. But whoever I meet they keep on reminding me (of the record," he said.

Asked what he decided to do before coming to bat today, Tendulkar said, "I knew I need 15 runs to get past Lara's record. But I had decided to keep it simple, concentrate on just watching the ball." He said in his 19-year career he was not much concerned about creating personal records.

"I wanted to play my best game against the opposition not break records and while doing that if I break records, its a just a reflection of what I have been able to contribute as a player for Indian cricket," he said.

Tendulkar, however, could not hide the glee of achieving the world record against Australia, India's intense rivals of late.

"I would have preferred to get my record earlier. But it's nice that it has come at the right time. Australians are the top side and to get it against them was a special moment and I treasure this." He was, though, disappointed to get out on 88 without making a hundred, which would have made the match more memorable for him.

"It's disappointing that I got out, the aim was to stay there till the end and start afresh innings on Saturday but got a good ball. I thought I was a fraction late to judge that ball and get on the front foot, rather than holding there because the new ball does different things."