On 15 November 1989, when a wiry, diminutive teenager walked out to face Pakistan’s formidable bowling attack, even Sachin Tendulkar’s most ardent supporters would not be able to foretell the dizzying heights he touched in a 24-year-long playing career. He showed glimpses of hi undoubted potential in his very first series, notching a half-century in just his second test match against Pakistan, as a 16-year-old.
With the Master Blaster raising his bat to Father Time as he brings up 50 years of age, we look back in time and pick out our 5 favourite innings by Sachin over a magnificent playing career, in which he broke many records in almost all formats of the game and carried the Indian team like no batsman since and few before.
119* vs England at Old Trafford, 1990
This was the knock that announced Sachin to the world, as the still teenaged Tendulkar stamped his authority on a famed England attack with his maiden international century.
In the second innings, with India having to chase a massive 407 runs to win, 6 batsmen were skittled out for a paltry 183 runs, and defeat seemed imminent. But together with Manoj Prabhakar, Tendulkar saw out a memorable draw, and at 17 years and 112 days, he became the youngest Test centurion in the world, and remains the third-youngest batsman to score a Test hundred after Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful and Pakistan’s Mushtaq Mohammad.
Relive this epic knock in a suitably grainy video from the vault.
143 and 134 vs Australia at Sharjah, 1998
If you speak to Indian cricket fans of the 90s of any age, and ask them for their most memorable SRT innings, chances are that they’ll reference the ‘Desert Storm’.
The Australian team of the 90s was building up the juggernaut that won 3 successive world cups, and their near-unbeatable aura was in full effect in the 1997/98 Coca-Cola Cup.
Before this match, India had won just one out of their three games, and New Zealand had won only one out of their four games and looked pretty much out of the tournament, clinging on to net run rate as their last hope. Australia had earned a place in the finals after winning all of their three matches.,
India came into the match as underdogs, with net run rate coming into play as they looked to pip New Zealand to a spot in the finals against, who else, Australia. Powered by Bevan’s 101, Australia scored 284 in their 50 overs, and lost Ganguly early in the chase, with Nayan Mongia joining Sachin to steady the ship.
But Tendulkar’s aggression was interrupted for 25 minutes by a sandstorm, and the target being revised to 276 in 46 overs. It made no difference to Tendulkar, who cut all comers to size with a storm of his own making. Soundtracked by Tony Greig’s iconic commentary, it seemed India would win until Sachin was around, with just 34 required in 19 deliveries and Tendulkar hitting boundaries almost at will.
His dismissal ended India’s hopes of winning, but ensured they qualified for the final, which fell on Tendulkar’s 24th birthday. India was widely expected to lose, having lost twice in the competition already, but Tendulkar had other plans. In the middle of a dust storm, the little master picked up the gauntlet and scored a thumping 134 to successfully chase down the target of 273 set by the Australians, with Steve Waugh later admitting that “we just didn’t know how to get him out”.
For fans of a certain vintage (and indeed this writer), this knock was peak Sachin, with millions hanging on every shot made by a world-class batsman at the height of his powers.
114 vs Australia at Perth, 1992
When India toured overseas in the early 90’s, India was not expected to match up well against quality fast bowling, let alone against a world-class attack on what was then considered the fastest pitch in the world.
So it was not surprising to see Australia emerging victorious 4-0. But what amazed overseas fans, and delighted Indian ones, were the performances of a young Tendulkar, who showed incredible skill and fortitude even as more experienced players struggled.
Here’s Australian cricket legend Ian Chappell weighing in with his memories of that day.
And so, when an 18-year-old Sachin Tendulkar scored a Test century against Australia at the WACA in Perth, it set tongues wagging. Against a bowling attack comprising Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel, Mike Whitney, and Tom Moody, Sachin scored 114 runs peppered with 16 fours to help India post with a respectable total in their first innings.
This was a contribution in a losing cause, but it showed that the little master was the real deal.
136 vs Pakistan at Chennai, 1999
If you remember the Pakistani bowling attack of 1999, you would recall the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Saqlain Mushtaq, not to mention a very young Shoaib Akhtar and Mushtaq Ahmed.
At the Chepauk, with India’s backs against the walls at 2 for 6 chasing 271 in the 4th innings, Tendulkar went about creating a masterpiece of an innings on a track that had more than enough in it for the bowlers, let alone one as good as Pakistan’s.
After getting dismissed for a duck in the first innings, Tendulkar too had something to prove. As wickets fell at the other end, and with his eye set, he shifted gears against the spinners and targeted Saqlain Mushtaq in particular. It was as if the pitch was benign with Sachin on strike, and beast when he wasn’t.
Just when it seemed he would take India to a famous win, he charged Saqlain one time too many and was caught by Akram. The silence among the fans betrayed their worry, even if only 17 runs were needed. Their fears were not unfounded; Pakistan ultimately won the match by 12 runs, and the match went down in folklore.
200* vs South Africa at Gwalior, 2010
For the longest time, scoring a double hundred in ODIs seemed like the holy grail, with many falling short. Saeed Anwar came closest when he slammed 194 against India in 1997, but for more than a decade after this, no one came as close. Tendulkar himself notched a score of 186, but could go no further.
That was until Gwalior 2010.
With Sachin in the autumn of his career, and just two years from retirement from ODIs, Tenculkar summoned some of the old magic to slam 25 fours on the way to scoring the first ever double-hundred in ODI cricket. It was an unimaginable feat at the time, even more so since Sachin carried his bat through the innings and remained undefeated. Even if others went on to go higher still in the ensuing years, no one forgets their first.
Sachin scored almost exactly half of India’s score of 401 runs, and no discussion about Tendulkar is complete with this knock being mentioned.
Let’s hear about this innings from the little master himself.
We could go on and on, waxing eloquent about the great man, but we’ll end our innings here, and simply wish the little master a very happy birthday as he takes guard for life after 50.
