Best of Sachin #3 – Which is the best innings according to you?
Throughout his illustrious playing career, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar enthralled cricket fans all over the world with his unbelievable run-making. Each of his 100 international centuries has left an everlasting impact on Indian cricket. While the other knocks have redefined the game itself in many ways. In this exclusive series ‘Best of Sachin’, we take a look at the most special knocks to have come out of the Master’s willow.
Tendulkar played in as many as 782 innings across all three formats of the game in his career. We bring you a collection of 15 of his best innings in batches of 3. Here’s the third lot:
103* v England, Chennai (2008)
Image Courtesy: AFP
11 years ago, the city of Mumbai was hit by a gruesome terrorist attack that killed many innocent lives. A couple of weeks later, the Indian team was set to play their first Test against England at Chennai. It was an emotional time for all Indians and one man was particularly determined to heal the wounds of a bruised nation. With totals of 316 and 311/9d, England seemed to be in complete control for the most part of the Test.
But a resilient Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Chasing a steep target of 387 to win, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir laid the platform with their heroic opening stand of 117. Tendulkar then came in and fought his way through his 41st Test hundred, probably the most historically significant one of his career.
Around 95,000 spectators witnessed Tendulkar’s unbeaten knock that lasted 317 minutes and included 9 fours.
119* v England, Manchester (1990)
Image Courtesy: telegraph.co.uk
When the 17-year-old curly-haired boy walked out to save his team from sinking at Old Trafford, little did he know what lay in store. The pressure of saving the Test match for India didn’t stop an eager Tendulkar from becoming the youngest Test centurion in England. Neither did a potent England bowling attack featuring Eddie Hemmings, Angus Fraser, Devon Malcolm and the likes.
What made that knock even more special was the fact that it was the first of Tendulkar’s 51 hundreds in the longest format of the game. Together with Manoj Prabhakar, he put up a solid 160-run stand for the 7th wicket that the Englishmen just couldn’t break. Thanks to Tendulkar’s unbeaten century that lasted 225 minutes and included 17 fours, India were able to draw the Test.
120 v England, Bangalore (World Cup 2011)
Image Courtesy: Sportskeeda
6 World Cup appearances and 19 years later, Tendulkar’s dream of lifting the World Cup trophy for India finally came true at his hometown, Mumbai. With 482 runs, he also finished his final World Cup as the leading run-scorer for India. Of his 2 hundreds in that tournament, one came against England in the 11th Group match at Bengaluru. Batting first, Tendulkar smashed a blistering 115-ball 120 that included 10 fours and 5 sixes. By the time James Anderson got the better of him (236/3), the Master Blaster had set his team up for a huge 300-plus total.
