On Monday, Sachin Tendulkar, also known as the “Master Blaster,” celebrated his 50th birthday. Over the course of more than two decades, Tendulkar carried the Indian batting team and played many memorable innings that made India proud in the cricket world. The Voice of Sikkim would like to commemorate this occasion by sharing 50 of the greatest facts about the Master Blaster.
Sachin Tendulkar, who was just 16 years old at the time, missed out on the opportunity to become the youngest player to score a Test century by just 12 runs. This happened during the second Test match against New Zealand in Napier on 12 Feb 1990.
This day, every year, brings back so many memories of the day I 1st represented India. It was an honour to play for the country and be able to represent India for 24 years. #TBT #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/k6cT1aT5XE
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 15, 2018
Sachin Tendulkar, a former Indian cricketer, has set numerous records throughout his career. He holds the record for the most Test appearances, having played in 200 matches, surpassing Steve Waugh’s previous record of 168. Tendulkar also holds the record for the most runs scored in Test cricket, with a total of 15,921 runs, and has scored 51 Test centuries, which is also a record. He is the only cricketer to have scored 100 centuries in international cricket and has scored the most half-centuries in international cricket, with 164.
Tendulkar has played at 90 different cricket venues and was the first player to be given out by the third umpire in an ODI match. He got married at the age of 22 to Anjali Mehta, whose father is a seven-time national bridge champion. Tendulkar’s elder brother, Ajit Tendulkar, played a significant role in his cricket career. Tendulkar’s father named him after the legendary musician Sachin Dev Burman, and he was a ballboy during the 1987 World Cup, which India co-hosted.
Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in November 1989, scoring his first Test hundred at the age of 17. He managed to score 16 Test centuries before turning 25, and he scored his first century on home soil in 1993 against England. Tendulkar also made his ODI debut against Pakistan in December 1989 but scored a duck in that match. He only played one T20I match during his career, scoring 10 runs off 12 balls in that encounter against South Africa.
In 2008, Tendulkar surpassed Brian Lara to become the leading run-scorer in Tests. He scored his first double hundred in ODIs against South Africa in February 2010 and his highest score in Tests, 248 not out, came against Bangladesh in December 2004. Tendulkar’s first Test century against England was in 1990 at Old Trafford, Manchester. He opened the batting for the first time ever during the second ODI against New Zealand in 1994 and opened batting just once in Tests.
Tendulkar retired from ODIs in 2012 with 18,426 runs under his belt and made his IPL debut in 2008 for Mumbai Indians. In 2013, he announced his retirement from Test cricket, and his last Test match was against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Tendulkar was coached by Ramakant Achrekar in his early years, who is a legend in Mumbai cricketing circles. He gained nationwide attention after his 664-run partnership with Vinod Kambli in the Harris Shield, a school cricket tournament.
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