Get into a discussion about the best cricketers to have ever played the game and the name of Sachin Tendulkar will undoubtedly be mentioned. The Master Blaster was truly a cut above the rest in his generation as he delighted cricket fans for more than two decades with his exquisite stroke play and timing.
Here’s a look at 5 times Sachin Tendulkar shocked the world with his batting.
200* vs South Africa, 2010
Ever since the ODI format got popular, an individual score of 200 has remained elusive. Many have got close to the mark, but that milestone was first breached only in 2010 by none other than Sachin Tendulkar himself. Playing on a hot afternoon in Gwalior, Sachin batted the entirety of the 50 overs as he scored 200* in an innings which included 25 fours and 3 sixes.
241 vs Australia, 2004
In an innings that is marvelled for his mid-series adaptability, Sachin Tendulkar showed the depths of his genius as he scored 241 against Australia in a Test match in Sydney. What made the knock unique was Tendulkar’s petulance to not play the cover drive. Since he was getting out chasing outside off deliveries, the Master Blaster decided not to score runs in that region and ended up playing 433 balls in an innings that made the whole world applaud.
175 vs Australia, 2009
Chasing a mammoth total of 351 against Australia in an ODI in Hyderabad, Sachin Tendulkar remained India’s lone star as he almost achieved the unthinkable. Opening the innings, he led the charge with an attacking 175 off 141 deliveries, while the rest of the batters struggled. Only Suresh Raina managed a fifty while all the other Indian batters were out cheaply. Tendulkar stayed on till the 48th over before he was dismissed by Clint McKay. Despite India losing that game by 3 runs, Sachin Tendulkar was named Man of the Match.
143 vs Australia, 1998
The innings that is fondly remembered as ‘Desert Storm’, this knock is etched in the mind of most Indian fans who grew up in the noughties and the nineties. Chasing 276 in a shortened 46-over game, Sachin was the lone warrior for India once again as he brutally took down the famed Australian bowling attack of Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, and Michael Kasprowicz. On a difficult batting surface, he scored a sensational 143 off 131 balls in an innings that included 9 fours and 5 sixes. Although India lost that match, Tendulkar’s knock ensured India did enough to make it to the final of 1998 Coca Cola Cup final, which they eventually won.
103* vs England, 2008
One accomplishment that remained elusive for Sachin Tendulkar for a while was a noteworthy fourth-innings century in Test cricket. That too was taken care of when he scored a flawless 103* against England in 2008 in a Test match in Chennai. On a turner in Chepauk, India were set a daunting target of 387 in the fourth innings. They got a solid start with Sehwag and Gambhir getting fifties, but were a bit shaky at 183/3. Tendulkar then took on the mantle with a partnership first with VVS Laxman, and then with Yuvraj Singh as India registered their second-highest successful chase ever, and the highest on Indian soil. Tendulkar played 196 balls and scored 9 fours in that innings.
