It is said that Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali Mehta's love story started at the Mumbai International Airport in 1990. Sachin at that time was returning from his first international cricket tour and Anjali was there to receive her mother. The couple later met at a common friend's place

Anjali, who is a doctor, didn't know who Sachin was when they met initially. She then brushed up on cricket once they started dating. She said in an interview, 'I think what he liked about me was that I knew nothing about cricket when I first met him. I didn't even know who Sachin was

Sachin Tendulkar would wear disguises while out on movie dates with Anjali since he was afraid of being mobbed. In an interview, Anjali had once mentioned an incident where Sachin had gone to see 'Roja' with her in a false beard and wearing specs. But during the interval his specs fell and he was mobbed

Sachin Tendulkar got married to Anjali on May 25, 1995. Sachin and Anjali's was a grand wedding reception, but there were no excesses for it to even border on over the top.

For the wedding, a host of Indian cricket stars were present. Among them were the Sportsfield building gang which included Ajit Wadekar, Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Polly Umrigar and GS Ramchand — apart from Kapil Dev and Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi. Sachin Tendulkar had also invited a handful of journalists. The Tendulkar family did not miss out on inviting anyone who had played a role in their son's stupendous journey. Even those who played a few Ranji Trophy games with him were called.

Sachin Tendulkar had once revealed that he would write letters to wife Anjali in the pre-mobile era. But writing letters to his wife needed some effort from the former batsman. 'Hitting a cricket ball came naturally to me. But, while writing letters to Anjali, I have to doubly check what I was writing,' he had said at the time. '.. in those days when there were no mobiles and the only mode of communication was through landlines or writing letters, I started writing letters. I started with my parents and later wrote some letters to (wife) Anjali,' Tendulkar had said

When Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali decided to get engaged, the ace cricketer was in New Zealand. So, he asked Anjali to break the news to his family

Anjali Tendulkar even mentioned how her life would stop when he was batting in an interview. She said: 'I don't eat. I don't answer phones. I don't drink. I don't even move. I don't reply to any SMS until he's out'

Anjali Tendulkar gave up her successful career so that Sachin Tendulkar could focus on cricket and not be distracted by family worries. 'The most beautiful thing happened to me when I met Anjali in 1990. I know that being a doctor there was a big career in front of her. But she decided that I should continue playing and took care of the children. Thanks for bearing with me for all the nonsense I've said,' he said in his farewell speech

Sachin Tendulkar described Anjali's handwriting as 'beautiful,' which anyone would 'watch and admire'

Anjali would avoid watching matches of Sachin Tendulkar at the stadium so that he wasn't distracted and could focus on his game. The only exceptions are when she appeared at an Eden Gardens match and at Wankhede stadium for his farewell game

At the launch of Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography, 'Playing It My Way', Anjali revealed some nuggets about their courtship days. She said she used to write letters to Sachin to save on international telephone bills.

Sachin Tendulkar has said in an interview: Anjali actually taught me to thank for what the God has given me and for what the God has not given me

Did you know Anjali went to Sachin Tendulkar's house for the first time disguised as a journalist

Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography confessed that it was Anjali who helped him deal with and get over the debacles that he faced as Team India captain. Sachin has written, 'I confided in Anjali that I feared there was nothing more that I could do to stem the tide of defeats. Anjali, as usual, managed to put things in perspective and assured me that things would surely get better in the months to come'

Sachin Tendulkar has time and again described his wife Anjali as his mentor and often looks to her for advice

Anjali Tendulkar is the daughter of well-known industrialist Ashok Mehta