On this day: Sachin Tendulkar goes past Brian Lara as leading run-scorer in Tests

The year was 2008. The opposition was Australia. The batsman was none other than Sachin Tendulkar. The record? Well, one of the many he went on to script in his illustrious career.

At Mohali, captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test against the visiting Australians. India got off to a decent start with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir at the crease. Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson got the first breakthrough with the wicket of Sehwag in the 14th over, ending to the 70-run opening stand. Rahul Dravid then joined Gambhir in the middle and the duo put on a 76-run partnership.

But Brett Lee from the other end was in no mood to forgive. He got rid of Dravid in the 41st over. Johnson followed it up by taking the crucial wicket of Gambhir. India were suddenly reeling at 146/3 when Tendulkar took over. His partner, VVS Laxman fell cheaply, but it was Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly who then took the attack to the bowlers. Playing the final series of his career, Ganguly went on to smash a phenomenal 102 to take India’s first-innings total beyond 400.

Another feather in the Master’s Cap

Tendulkar, in his knock of 88 (10 fours), crossed the 11,953 run-mark in Test cricket previously held by West Indies’ Brian Lara. He achieved the feat against fast bowler Peter Siddle by taking three runs off his delivery. The Master Blaster reached the landmark in 154 Tests at an average of 54.03. Incidentally, it was Siddle’s debut Test and Tendulkar became the first victim of his Test career.

Remembering the special knock by Tendulkar, the BCCI took to Twitter to share a short video clip:

This Day in 2008 – @sachin_rt surpassed Brian Lara to become the highest run-scorer in Tests ?? pic.twitter.com/XoRTNF2zAs

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 17, 2019

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