The ritual of ringing the bell at Lord’s is a cherished tradition, reserved for cricketing greats who have left an indelible mark on the sport. With legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid having performed the honour before him, it was only fitting that Tendulkar continued the proud Indian legacy at cricket’s most storied ground

Meanwhile, his portrait, painted by Stuart Pearson Wright from a photograph taken at the maestro’s home 18 years ago, will be on display in the MCC Museum until later this year, after which it will find a permanent place in the Pavilion

"As the work progressed, so did Pearson Wright`s approach, eventually ending with oil on abraded aluminium. The abstract background illustrates Tendulkar`s timelessness, unrestricted by any era or specific location," a release said.

Pearson Wright has previously painted portraits of Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Dilip Vengsarkar. Tendulkar was quoted as saying, "It`s a huge honour. In 1983, when India won the World Cup, it was my first introduction to Lord`s."

"I saw our captain, Kapil Dev, lift the trophy. That moment sparked my cricketing journey. Today, with my portrait going up inside the Pavilion, feels like it`s come full circle. When I reflect on my career, it brings a smile to my face. This is truly special."

"Unlike the previous paintings, which were full-length, the portrait of Tendulkar is a larger-than-life image of his head and shoulders," the release added.

Pearson Wright said: "It was clear that MCC didn`t want this portrait to be in the same format as the previous Indian cricket portraits I made, so a fresh approach was taken with this one. I decided on a composition which focused more on Sachin`s head and also using a heroic larger-than-lifesize scale to give the painting a sense of gravitas and power."

"I have often painted a portrait with an abstract background, often a plain colour, rather than paint a rendition of an interior or exterior space. This is largely to give focus to the subject`s features and to minimise a context which might define the subject in some way."

Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat against India, who brought back pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar series at Lord`s on Thursday. Bumrah returned to the Indian playing XI after sitting out the second match at Birmingham, while England fast bowler Jofra Archer will be appearing in his first Test since February 2021. Archer has come in place of Josh Tongue, while Bumrah has replaced Prasidh Krishna in the Indian line-up