Punters bet on Tendulkar's 100th ton at MCG

As the fans world over eagerly await Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international ton, punters Down Under have placed the bets on the Master Blaster getting to the elusive mark in the series-opener against Australia, starting in Melbourne on December 26.

The cricketer reaching the milestone figure at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), has evoked a bid of 9/4 as per the sportsbet.com.au, an online bookmaker, the Australian media reported today.

Tendulkar is one century shy of creating the record and if he misses an opportunity to get to the historic figure at the MCG the next on the favourites list is the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) with odds staked at 3/1 followed by the Perth, the venue of third Test (5/1) and the Adelaide (7/1).

The 38-year-old scored an unbeaten 92 against Chairman's XI at Canberra last week and looked in good touch during his stay at the crease.

"He is in good form with a 90-odd against the Chairman's XI already under his belt since arriving in Australia and he's a very good chance to achieve the phenomenal milestone during the Boxing Day Test," said sportsbet.com.au's Ben Hawes.

"And if not, he can take some respite in the fact that the next game is at the SCG where he has pummelled Australia on several occasions," he added.

Tendulkar enjoys a healthy average of 60.6 against Australia with 11 centuries in 31 Tests and spin legend Shane Warne yesterday said he has little doubt that the batsman would get to his 100th international century on the present tour Down Under.