Sachin Tendulkar failed to make a century on what could be his last appearance for India in his 200th and final test match in Mumbai.

Tendulkar scored 74 on the second day of the second test against West Indies at a sold-out Wankhede Stadium.

With India in a strong position at 221 for three when Tendulkar departed the home side had already established a lead of 39 and a big first innings advantage could see them not needing to bat again.

Tendulkar had begun the day on 38 and and quickly added nine runs, taking a single from the first over of the day off Tino Best before hitting successive fours off Shane Shillingford.

Tendulkar survived a scare off the fifth ball of Best's second over when he failed to get anything on a rising delivery and umpire Richard Kettleborough gave him not out despite committed appeals from the West Indies players.

A straight driven four off Best’s next over gave Tendulkar his 68th Test fifty as he moved on to 52 not out as India replied to West Indies first innings total of 182.

The 40-year-old, whose impending retirement has sparked an outpouring of emotion in his homeland, is bidding for one last hurrah before bringing the curtain down on his 24-year international career.

An enthusiastic welcome from the 32,000-strong crowd set the scene for the Little Master on Friday and he did not disappoint.

Having reached his half-century Tendulkar set his sights on the next landmark and a 101st career century at international level.

But there was to be no century as he perished for 74 when he was caught by Darren Sammy attempting to cut Narsingh Deonarine.

Tendulkar’s tally of 100 centuries is just one of many records he has amassed since making his debut for the national side on November 15th, 1989.

Tendulkar holds dozens of batting records, including most runs and centuries in both Tests and one-day internationals.

He has amassed nearly 16,000 runs in his Tests career — a total that comprises just part of his 34,000-plus runs across all forms of the game at international level.