Tendulkar, 25, broke the record of West Indian opener Desmond Haynes. Tendulkar had equalled Haynes's record in Sri Lanka, scoring 128 in a record opening wicket partnership with Saurav Ganguly as India won the Independence Cup.

Earlier, when Zimbabwe were batting, Anil Kumble picked up his 200th wicket, the first spinner in the history of One-Day Internationals to get to that landmark (SEE STORY ON PAGE 16). The 27-year-old leg-spinner bowled Zimbabwe's tailender Garry Brent for nought in his 147th match.

The man from Karnataka is well ahead of contemporaries Shane Warne of Australia, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed of Pakistan and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan to achieve it. . In the previous tie, at Toronto, Canada, Tendulkar, who went there as a late replacement, scored 77 against Pakistan in the fifth match of theSahara Cup.

The former Indian captain's unbeaten 127 today helped India score an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe.

Tendulkar, who averages 41.9 in ODIs, got to his landmark in his 198th match. He has also scored 43 fifties. Haynes had played 238 matches, scoring 8648 runs at an average of 41.37. Tendulkar, who has scored 7253 runs has to only get past Haynes and the Indian captain, Mohammed Azharuddin to break that record.