MULTAN, March 27: Sachin Tendulkar is aiming not only to win matches for India but also win Pakistani hearts on a Test tour with deep political overtones.

The 30-year-old, who made his Test debut when India last toured Pakistan 14 years ago, said the series was not just about cricket but about relations between the two countries.

"This tour is not only about cricket," Tendulkar said on Saturday, eve of the first of three Tests. "Before we left, the Prime Minister told us that we have to win hearts. That's one of the important goals.

"This is obviously a special tour. Playing against Pakistan is different from playing against any other team," Tendulkar told reporters.

"This series means a lot, but it is not different from any other," said Tendulkar ahead of the first Test starting at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

But Tendulkar, who is still rankled by India's 12-run loss to Pakistan in Chennai five years ago, says he has much to prove on the cricket field as well.

Tendulkar scored a masterly 136, despite being hampered by a back injury, as India chased 271 for victory in the first Test in 1999. But the team crumbled after his departure with only 17 left to get.

That knock is regarded as one his best, but it is often interpreted by critics as a sign of his failure to finish matches.

"We got so close, so it was heartbreaking. The loss was hugely disappointing," he said.

India started the tour well, clinching a hard-fought one-day series 3-2, but Tendulkar said they had to put the victory on the backburner and concentrate on the Tests.

"It's important to leave behind what we've just achieved and start a new chapter. This tour is divided over two parts and the more challenging section, the Tests, is left," he said.

When Tendulkar made his Test debut as a 16-year-old in Karachi in 1989 on India's last Test tour of Pakistan, Mikhail Gorbachev still ruled the Soviet Union and Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan's prime minister, while Rajiv Gandhi had just been ousted by his long-time ally Vishwanath Pratap Singh in India.

"It may have been a long time ago, but I can recollect every day of that tour," said Tendulkar, now the senior statesman of world cricket.

He has played more Tests and one-dayers - and scored more runs and centuries - than anyone still playing international cricket.

Tendulkar's 9,265 runs from 111 Tests place him fourth in the all-time scorers' list behind Australians Allan Border and Steve Waugh and India's Sunil Gavaskar.

His 32 Test centuries are at par with the retired Waugh and just two behind fellow Mumbai citizen Gavaskar.

"When I started my career here in Pakistan, I never thought I'd score all those hundreds and get so many runs," he said.

"Fourteen years ago, I was the most junior member of the team. I had a different approach to the game then. I wanted to enjoy myself and try to win a regular Test place," he said.

"Now, as the senior-most member of the side, I have a different role to play. There's more responsibility."

Tendulkar is the only player from either side to have experienced the atmosphere of an India-Pakistan Test on Pakistani soil.

India have never won a Test series on Pakistani soil in five attempts. Tendulkar said they wanted to ensure things would be different this time.

"We'll have to go out on the field and do our best, the result will take care of itself," he said.

The just-concluded one-day series helped Tendulkar notice a change in the attitude of Pakistani fans.

"On that 1989 tour there were a few ugly incidents like when a man ran onto the field in the Karachi Test and accosted our captain Kris Srikkanth," he said.

"But this time the crowds everywhere have been just fantastic. They have supported the good cricket the two teams played in the one-dayers and I think it will be the same in Tests as well."

Tendulkar was moved by the standing ovation he received from Rawalpindi fans when he scored his 37th one-day hundred.

"It may be a bit special when you are playing against Pakistan because everyone is talking about it," he said.

"But as far as I am concerned, I am playing for India and it does not matter whom we are playing.

"I don't fool around on the ground and give my best for the six hours I am on the field. The expectation of people is higher against Pakistan, but eventually all you are doing in playing cricket."-Reuters/AFP