On this day: Sachin Tendulkar slams the first-ever double ton in men’s ODIs
Not very long ago, scoring a double century in One-Day Internationals was considered an improbable task. Fast forward to 2023, cricket has seen as many as ten ODI double hundreds. And exactly on this day in 2010, the 200-run mark in a Men’s ODI was breached for the very first time. The man who achieved the incredible feat was none other than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar played an unbeaten knock of 200 against South Africa in Gwalior on this day.
India lose Sehwag early
When Tendulkar walked out to bat, he was already the proud owner of almost all the major batting records. Considered as the greatest ODI batsman of all time, it was fitting that Tendulkar was the first man on the planet to score a double century in the 50-over format. MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium. The decision to bat first, however, seemed to have backfired. India lost their star Virender Sehwag cheaply.
But it did not take Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik long to justify Dhoni’s decision. The duo added 194 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a big total before Wayne Parnell dismissed Karthik for 79. Before Karthik’s dismissal, the Master Blaster got to his century with a cut off JP Duminy. The 46th hundred of his career had taken 90 balls and contained 13 boundaries. As expected, Tendulkar shifted gears after reaching the three-digit mark.
The likes of Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt, Parnell and Jacques Kallis were taken to the cleaners as Tendulkar headed towards history. The former India batsman reached 150 with a lofted on-drive off Parnell and took just 118 balls to reach the milestone. For the last few overs, Tendulkar was joined in the middle by MS Dhoni after Roelof van der Merwe ended his 81-run stand with Yusuf Pathan in the 42nd over.
The incredible finish
Dhoni’s arrival saw runs flowing from both ends as he and Tendulkar blew South Africa away. In the 46th over, Tendulkar broke the then-record of the highest ODI score by breaching the 194-run mark. Before him, Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry had scored 194 in an innings. At that stage, the cricket fraternity had finally started to believe that they would finally see a man scoring a double hundred in ODIs.
The moment did eventually come but after some tense seconds. Tendulkar moved to 199 early enough, in the 48th over. He was looking destined to reach 200 with ease. Dhoni, however, had some other ideas. In the 49th over, the India skipper hit two sixes and a boundary. He then managed a single off the last ball, making the fans more anxious. Not only that but he also hit Langeveldt’s first ball of the final over into the stands beyond long-on. MS Dhoni was then booed by the crowd. Dhoni finally took a single on the second ball and Tendulkar reached the milestone on the following delivery with a single.
“First man on the planet to score a double century in ODIs and it is the ‘Superman’ from India,” said Ravi Shastri on air.
Tendulkar’s historic innings propelled India to score a mammoth 401/3 in the allotted fifty overs. India went on to win the game by 153 runs after bowling out the Proteas for 248. The win also helped them clinch the three-match series with a match remaining.
