Sachin Tendulkar - The Master Blaster
- 1. 114 vs Australia, Perth, 1992
Australians batted first and were all out for 346. The curly haired Tendulkar came in at 69 for two and saw his teammates depart, mostly for single digits. He however stood firm until, joined by Kiran More for the ninth wicket, he launched into a furious counter attack. From 159 for eight, the two took the score to 240 when Tendulkar was out. But in the meantime he had reached a priceless 114.
His innings provided the abiding memory of the match even if India lost by 300 runs.
- 2. 169 vs South Africa, Cape Town, 1996-97
In the second Test at Cape Town, South Africa led off with 529 for seven declared. Tendulkar, who was the captain, had entered at 25 for three and was now joined by his predecessor Md Azharuddin. In a thrilling counter attack, the two added 222 runs for the sixth wicket before Azharuddin fell for 115. With only the tail for company, Tendulkar unleashed a flurry of strokes and was at his dazzling best despite the menace posed by the fearsome attack. He was last out at 359.
In a stay of 5-1/2 hours, he faced 254 balls and hit as many as 26 fours. Considering the quality of the bowling and the fast and bouncy track, it has remained one of his best centuries even if India lost by 282 runs.
- 3. 155 not-out vs Australia, Chennai, 1998
Coming in on the fourth morning with the score 115 for two – India were 71 runs in arrears on the first innings – Tendulkar did pretty much what he liked with the bowling and when Md Azharuddin declared at 418 for four late in the day, Tendulkar was unbeaten with a magnificent 155 off just 191 balls with 14 fours and four sixes.
Tendulkar’s mastery had wrested the initiative and Australia went hurtling to a 179-run defeat.
- 4. 143 vs Australia, Sharjah, 1998
The Australians led off with 284 for seven in 50 overs but the target was revised to 276 from 46 overs following a dust storm. The qualification target was 237 but even this seemed difficult with the Indians 138 for four after 29 overs. However Tendulkar was still there and he proceeded to pace his innings beautifully even as he made some dazzling strokes. He got out after facing 131 balls and hitting nine fours and five sixes.
India finished at 250 for five to go down by 26 runs, but more important had done enough to qualify for the final.
- 5. 140 not-out vs Kenya, Bristol, 1999
Tendulkar came in to bat at 92 for two. For the next 29 overs Tendulkar and Dravid did pretty much what they liked with the bowling but the former was always the dominant partner in a World Cup record third wicket partnership of 237 runs. Dravid was unbeaten with 104 but was clearly overshadowed by Tendulkar who started carefully but accelerated after each landmark. The fifty came off 54 balls, the 100 off 84. He hit the last ball of the innings for six – his third in addition to 16 fours – to finish on 140 from 101 balls.
Kenya, who could get no more than 235 for seven in 50 overs, had to go down by 94 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar - The greatest
- 6. 136 vs Pakistan, Chennai, 1999
Indians were set a target of 271 but this seemed to be a tall order when they were 82 for five on the morning of the fourth day. However, Tendulkar was still there and on him rested the team’s hope. Inch by inch, run by run Tendulkar in the company of Nayan Mongia got India past 200. In the meantime he was battling back spasms but he batted through the pain inching India towards the target. The partnership added 136 runs before Mongia was out for 52.
The last three wickets could add only four runs and India went down by 12 runs.
- 7. 241 not-out vs Australia, Sydney, 2004
India batting first were given a good start with openers Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag putting on 123 runs. Both however fell in quick succession and the score was 128 for two when Tendulkar entered. With VVS Laxman (178), he added a record 353 runs for the fourth wicket and went along his merry way through the first three days. When Sourav Ganguly declared at 705 for seven, Tendulkar remained not out on 241 having batted ten hours and 13 minutes, facing 436 deliveries and hitting 33 fours.
For good measure, he added an unbeaten 60 in the second innings though the Test itself was drawn.
- 8. 103 not-out vs England, Chennai, 2008
Target of 387 runs was set by England, and was not going to be easy. But, Virender Sehwag eased matters a great deal with an electrifying 83 off 68 balls. Coming in at 141 for two, Tendulkar saw Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman depart and at 224 for four. Tendulkar however found an able ally in Yuvraj Singh and the two proceeded to steer India home with a fifth wicket partnership of 163. While Yuvraj remained unbeaten with 85, Tendulkar went on to get 103 from 196 balls.
Tendulkar hit the winning boundary and was there at the finish, scripting the highest run chase in a Test match, in Asia.
- 9. 175 vs Australia, Hyderabad, 2009
Australia led off with 350 for four but Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar gave the Indians the right kind of start hitting 66 off 8.5 overs. However they slipped to 162 for four in the 24th over. After that, Tendulkar found an able partner in Suresh Raina with whom he added 137 runs for the fifth wicket from 19 overs to bring India back into the game. Tendulkar who reached his 100 off 81 balls raced to 150 off another 41 balls. Thanks to his brilliance India had a glorious chance to pull off a remarkable win for with three overs left, the hosts needed only 19 runs with four wickets in hand. Tendulkar got out on the first ball of 48th over when he was caught by the fielder at fine leg.
The last three wickets fell in a heap and India were bowled out for 347 in the final over.
10. 200 not-out vs South Africa, Gwalior, 2010
Tendulkar opened up with Sehwag, and followed up with a second-wicket partnership of 194 runs with Dinesh Kartik, despite Sehwag’s early fall. Yusuf Pathan was rightly promoted but Tendulkar in a murderous mood by now matched even the big hitter during a third wicket partnership of 81 runs off 7.5 overs. Tendulkar who reached his hundred off 90 balls sped to 150 off another 28 balls and by now there was considerable excitement as to whether he would reach 200. He was for a time eclipsed by MS Dhoni who slammed 68 off 35 balls with seven fours and four sixes but Tendulkar was not to be denied his date with history. He crossed the record score of 194 in an ODI in 46th over, but was overcome by the bout of cramps. He however carried on and a single beyond point from the third ball of the final over brought up the 200 to a spontaneous reception from the capacity crowd. Tendulkar faced 147 balls, hit 25 fours and three sixes.
India won by 153 runs.
