MELBOURNE (TIP): In an online poll conducted on Cricket Australia‘s website, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the Best Test player of the 21st century. The Little Master got the highest number of votes and emerged at the top in a list of the 100 best players since 2000.

Tendulkar earned 23 percent votes, the highest, followed by Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, who got 14 percent votes, while Australia’s Adam Gilchrist came third with 13 percent votes.

Tendulkar, who retired from Test cricket after playing his 200th game in November 2013, was the only Indian player to figure in the top-ten, which included four Australians, three South Africans and two Sri Lankans.

“After 10 days of counting down and no end of deliberations, cricket.com.au released its final countdown of the 100 best Test players since 2000 a couple of days ago. Readers debated the top 10, just as you did players 11 through 100, but we also provided an opportunity for you to decide your No.1 Test player of the century,” CA’s website stated.

“Tendulkar, the Little Master, who remains an iconic figure in the sport, was a runaway winner, jumping four places from where cricket.com.au had him placed, while batting giants Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis were separated on countback, with the Australian just edging out his Proteas counterpart,” they added.

The Poll result:

1. Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) 23% , 2. Kumar Sangakkara (SL) 14% , 3. Adam Gilchrist (Aus) 13% , 4. Ricky Ponting (Aus) 11% , 5. Jacques Kallis (SA) 11% , 6. AB de Villiers (SA) 10% , 7. Shane Warne (Aus) 9% , 8. Glenn McGrath (Aus) 5% , 9. Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) 3% , 10. Dale Steyn (SA) 1%