Master Blaster Rewrites History Again, Scores 100th Ton
Dhaka, Mar 16 (PTI): Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar today scripted history by becoming the first cricketer in the world to score 100 international centuries, a phenomenal feat which may remain unconquered for years to come.
Tendulkar, who already has a pile of runs and records to his credit, achieved the incredible milestone when he turned spinner Shakib-ul Hasan towards fine-leg in the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh here.
The star batsman first looked heavenwards and then acknowledged the cheers of his teammates and the crowd by lifting his bat.
Fans in Mumbai and Bangalore celebrate Tendulka's record ron
It was the end of a long wait for the 38-year-old veteran, who had gone 33 innings and a year without a century. The right-hander made his 99th international ton in a World Cup match against South Africa in Nagpur on March 12.
Since then it had been an agonising wait for the maestro, whose every inning was watched with anticipation. He came close on quite a few occassion only to miss the milestone so much so that it became a huge monkey on his back and an unwanted distraction during every series that India played.
He was woefully out of form during India's Test and ODI whitewash at the hands of England last year and though he recovered quite a bit in the later series, the hundred was still not coming.
He carried the weight of expectation to what turned out to be a horror tour of Australia. Tendulkar seemed to be in good touch during the Tests but his form waned after he missed the 100th hundred despite coming close a few times.
Following this, he made himself available for the ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka and Australia but there too, the milestone proved elusive.
But the wait finally ended in familiar sub-continental environs.
With an over two decade long career, records are fairly routine for Tendulkar but for the cricketing fraternity every run he scores just adds to the legend that the diminutive right-hander has become.
The champion batsman has perhaps every batting record that is there to be taken under his belt and adding to the countless tally is the historic hundred he scored against England in the post-lunch session.
Much before his debut on November 15, 1989, Tendulkar's precocious talent was there to be seen when he shared an unbeaten 664-run stand with buddy Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shield Inter-School Game in 1988.
The 1989 international debut was far less spectacular, in fact forgettable. A Waqar Younis bouncer left him with a bleeding nose but Tendulkar did not wince and the next two decades saw him punishing bowlers all over the world on all kind of surfaces.
His first Test century came in England next year at Old Trafford and the Mumbaikar rose in stature after the 1991-92 tour of Australia, hitting sublime centuries on a Sydney turner and a Perth minefield.
The rest is history. No existing batting record seemed safe. Other than Brian Lara's Test match highest of 400 not out and first class highest score of 501 not out, every batting record became Tendulkar's.
A staggering 15470 runs scored in 188 Tests at a robust average of 55.44 confirmed Tendulkar's greatness in the longer version of the game.
And in the 462 ODIs he played, a whopping 18,260 (before the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh) were added to his mountain of runs at an average of 44.64.
Tendulkar is also the only batsman in the world who has scored a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved in Gwalior against South Africa in February. This feat was included in 'Times' magazine's top 10 sports moments of the year.
A perfect teamman, Tendulkar has limited his Twenty20 ambition to the Indian Premier League where he leads Mumbai Indians, ruling himself out of national reckoning lest it upsets the existing equilibrium of the side.
The biggest compliment to his batting came from Sir Donald Bradman himself in 1999 when he said that Tendulkar's style of playing resembled his style. "That touch I used to feel when I batted," he had said.
Tendulkar's colossal batting exploits have completely overshadowed his utility as a part-time bowler who reveled in breakthroughs.
He was a complete enigma with the ball, sending down military medium pace, orthodox leg-break and off-spin with the guiles that often caught batsmen off their guard.
His 45 Test wickets and 154 scalps in ODIs underline the fact that Tendulkar could have also staked claim to be that elusive all-rounder that India has been desperately looking for since the legendary Kapil Dev. But shoulder problems have not allowed him to bowl as much as he and the team would have liked.
In the field, he is among the safest pair of hands in the slip and his flat throw releasing strong arm saw him manning the deep with equal aplomb. He has taken 113 catches in Test cricket and 140 in the ODIs.
The aura only grew in strength because of his impeccable demeanour, on and off the field.
His father's death had a deep impact on him and Tendulkar still looks heavenwards whenever he crosses a milestone to seek his blessing.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the first to congratulate Tendulkar. His office tweeted his message: ''I join the nation in congratulating Sachin Tendulkar on his making history – a hundred centuries. He has made India proud. Tendulkar’s long career has been a triumph of class, character and courage. Wish him many more innings and feats to continue inspiring the youth.''
Enjoy the game and chase your dreams, says Sachin
Mirpur (Dhaka), Mar 16 (IANS): "Enjoy the game and chase your dreams" was batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar's message to budding cricketers after he achieved his 100th international hundred against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.
The cricketing world and Sachin's billion fans tasted their moment of joy after the master blaster struck his first hundred since March 12, 2011, scoring 114 off 157 balls.
Sachin said the wait for the elusive century as a tough one.
"I can't think of anything at this stage. It has been a tough phase for me," said Sachin.
"I started off the season batting reasonably well, batted well in Australia without much luck. It doesn't really matter how many hundreds you score, in the end you have to put your head down and grind it out for the team."
The 38-year old said he wasn't thinking too much about the milestone despite the unprecedented attention by his fans and the media.
"To be honest, I was not really thinking about it. The media started it all. Wherever I went, to the restaurant, room service, housekeeping, everyone was talking about the 100th hundred. It was surprising as nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. It got mentally tough, but eventually I had to do what was best for the team."
Sachin slowed down a bit while getting to the magical figure. When asked about how he paced his innings, Sachin said: "It was slightly different, the ball was not coming onto the bat. Virat (Kohli) and I were discussing that 275-280 would be a decent score on this wicket.
Many feel Sachin's feat won't be repeated but he thinks the important thing is to play for the team.
"It hasn't sunk in but I have definitely lost about 50 kilos," he quipped when asked about the significance of his achievement.
His message to the youngsters: "Dreams do come true. I had to wait for my dream for 22 years when we win the World Cup. So, go out there and chase your dreams."
Following is the list of 100 international centuries hit by Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has 51 Test centuries.
List of Test centuries:
1.119 n.o vs.England, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, Aug 14, 1990
2.148 n.o vs. Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Jan 6, 1992
3.114 vs. Australia, WACA Ground, Perth, Feb 3, 1992
4.111 vs. South Africa, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, Nov 28, 1992
5.165 vs. England, Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, Feb 12, 1993
6.104 not out vs. Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, July 31, 1993
7.142 vs. Sri Lanka, K.D.Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow, Jan 19, 1994
8.179 vs. West Indies, VCA Ground, Nagpur, Dec 2, 1994
9.122 vs. England, Edgbaston, Birmingham, June 9, 1996
10.177 vs. England, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, July 5, 1996
11.169 vs. South Africa, Newlands, Cape Town, Jan 4, 1997
12.143 vs. Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Aug 3, 1997
13.139 vs. Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, Aug 11, 1997
14.148 vs. Sri Lanka, Wankhede, Mumbai, Dec 4, 1997
15.155 vs. Australia, Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, March 9, 1998
16.177 vs. Australia, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, March 26, 1998
17.113 vs. New Zealand, Basin Reserve, Wellington, Dec 28, 1998
18.136 vs. Pakistan, Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, Jan 31, 1999
19.124 n.o vs Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, Feb 28, 1999
20.126 n.o vs. New Zealand, Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Oct 13, 1999
21.217 vs. New Zealand , Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, Oct 30, 1999
22.116 vs. Australia, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Dec 28, 1999
23.122 vs. Zimbabwe, Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi, Nov 21, 2000
24.201 n.o vs Zimbabwe, Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, Nov 26, 2000
25.126 vs. Australia, Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, March 20, 2001
26.155 vs. South Africa, Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein, Nov 3, 2001
27.103 vs. England, Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, Dec 13, 2001
28.176 vs. Zimbabwe, VCA Ground, Nagpur, Feb 24, 2002
29.117 vs. West Indies, Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, April 20, 2002
30.193 vs. England, Headingley, Leeds, Aug 23, 2002
31.176 vs. West Indies, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Nov 3, 2002
32.241 n.o vs. Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Jan 4, 2004
33.194 n.o vs. Pakistan, Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan, March 29, 2004
34.248 n.o vs. Bangladesh, Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Dec 12, 2004
35.109 vs. Sri Lanka, Ferozshah Kotla, New Delhi, Dec 22, 2005
36.101 vs. Bangladesh, Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chittagong, May 19, 2007
37.122 n.o vs. Bangladesh, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, May 26, 2007
38.154 n.o vs. Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Jan 4, 2008
39.153 vs. Australia, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Jan 25, 2008
40.109 vs. Australia, VCA Stadium, Nagpur, Nov 6, 2008
41.103 n.o vs. England, Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, Dec 15, 2008
42.160 n.o vs. New Zealand, Seddon Park, Hamilton, March 20, 2009
43.100 n.o vs. Sri Lanka, Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, Nov 20, 2009
44.105 n.o vs. Bangladesh, Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Jan 18, 2010
45.143 vs. Bangladesh, Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Jan 25, 2010
46.100 vs. South Africa, Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, Feb 9, 2010
47.106 vs. South Africa, Eden Gardens, Kolkata , Feb 15, 2010
48.203 vs. Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, July 28, 2010
49.214 vs. Australia, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Oct 11, 2010
50.111 n.o vs. South Africa, SuperSport Park, Centurion, Dec 19, 2010
51.146 vs. South Africa, Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, Jan 4, 2011
ODIs
1.110 vs. Australia, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sep 9, 1994
2.115 vs. New Zealand, IPCL Ground, Vadodara, Oct 28, 1994
3.105 vs. West Indies, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, Nov 11, 1994
4.112 n.o vs. Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, April 9, 1995
5.127 n.o vs. Kenya, Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, Feb 18, 1996
6.137 n.o vs. Sri Lanka, Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi, March 2, 1996
7.100 vs. Pakistan, Padang, Singapore, April 5, 1996
8.118 vs. Pakistan, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, April 15, 1996
9.110 vs. Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Aug 28, 1996
10.114 vs. South Africa, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, Dec 14, 1996
11.104 vs. Zimbabwe, Willowmoore Park, Benoni, Feb 9, 1997
12.117 vs. New Zealand, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, May 14, 1997
13.100 vs. Australia, Green Park Stadium, Kanpur, April 7, 1998
14.143 vs. Australia, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, April 22, 1998
15.134 vs. Australia, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium), Sharjah, April 24, 1998
16.100 n.o vs. Kenya, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, May 31, 1998
17.128 n.o vs. Sri Lanka, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, July 7, 1998
18.127 n.o vs. Zimbabwe, Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Sept 26, 1998
19.141 vs. Australia, Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka, Oct 28, 1998
20.118 n.o vs. Zimbabwe, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, Nov 8, 1998
21.124 n.o vs. Zimbabwe, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, Nov 13, 1998
22.140 n.o vs. Kenya, County Ground, Bristol, May 23, 1999
23.120 n.o vs. Sri Lanka, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, Aug 29, 1999
24.186 n.o vs. New Zealand, LB Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, Nov 8, 1999
25.122 vs. South Africa, IPCL Ground, Vadodara, March 17, 2000
26.101 vs. Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, Oct 20, 2000
27.146 vs. Zimbabwe, Barkatullah Khan Stadium, Jodhpur, Dec 8, 2000
28.139 vs. Australia, Nehru Stadium, Indore, March 31, 2001
29.122 vs. West Indies, Harare Sports Club, Harare, July 4, 2001
30.101 vs. South Africa, New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, Oct 5, 2001
31.146 vs. Kenya, Boland Park, Paarl, Oct 24, 2001
32.105 n.o vs. England, Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, July 4, 2002
33.113 vs. Sri Lanka, County Ground, Bristol, July 11, 2002
34.152 vs. Namibia, City Oval, Pietermaritzburg, Feb 23, 2003
35.100 vs. Australia, Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior, Oct 26, 2003
36.102 vs. New Zealand, LB Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, Nov 15, 2003
37.141 vs. Pakistan, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, March 16, 2004
38.123 vs. Pakistan, Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, April 12, 2005
39.100 vs. Pakistan, Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar, Feb 6, 2006
40.141 n.o vs. West Indies, Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur, Sept 14, 2006
41.100 n.o vs. West Indies, IPCL Ground, Vadodara, Jan 31, 2007
42.117 n.o vs. Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, March 2, 2008
43.163 n.o vs. New Zhealand, AMI Stadium, Christchurch, March 8, 2009
44.138 vs. Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sep 14, 2009
45.175 vs. Australia, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, Nov 5, 2009
46.200 n.o vs. South Africa, Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior, Feb 24, 2010
47.120 vs. England, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Feb 27, 2011
48.111 vs. South Africa, Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, March 12, 2011
49.114 vs. Bangladesh, Shere Bangla Stadium, Mirpur, March 16, 2012
Kudos to Sachin's hundred 100s: B-Town
Mumbai, March 16 (IANS): Led by Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan, India's cinema greats and others in the industry lost no time in congratulating Sachin Tenulkar, a fellow Mumbaikar, over his remarkable achievement.
Sachin scored his 100th international ton Friday, while playing against Bangladesh in the fourth match of the Asia Cup in Dhaka.
This is what they have to say:
Lata Mangeshkar: Sachin ne aaj phir se itihaas racha hai. Sachin ko meri bahut shubhkamnayein aur badhaai. (Sachin has created history. All my good wishes to Sachin)
Amitabh Bachchan: India breathes normally ..!! Sachin completes an incredible feat !! A hundred 100's... Never done before, perhaps never after !!!
Hema Malini: Heartiest Congratulations @sachin_rt on this greatest achievement in #cricket of #100th century
Abhishek Bachchan: CONGRATULARIONS SACHIN!!!! @sachin_rt WOW!!!! Ok, tried very hard to control myself and not get carried away. NOT POSSIBLE! YAYAAAAAY.
Akshay Kumar: Salute to the man who never gave up in spite of all the criticism. Finally he did it. Sachin creates history in world cricket! Congrats to Sachin Hundredkar. Respect.
Madhur Bhandarkar: The god of cricket has proved again why he's called so. Congrats Sachin for the century of tons. You make us proud always!
Shaan: Got home just in time to see Sachin's 100th 100.. How relieved must he have felt.. Even hit hair seemed less curly...did you notice:))
Sonakshi Sinha: Master blaster... Salute!
Rana Daggubati: Truly Superman!! Mr.SachinTendulkar India salutes you for your 100th 100.
Dhanush: Hey come-u mama SACHIN !! All hail the god of cricket !! Hail sachin !!
Jimmy Sheirgill: Witnessed history today..@sachin_rt..what a feeling..moist eyes and huge applause..salute.
Aman Verma: 100 the elusive number.... And he gets elevated to another level... Historic moment
Mandira Bedi: 100 100s. Who said it doesn't matter! After a huge sigh of relief that its finally happened, life can finally go on! Brilliant ! @sachin_rt...Cricket history.. The subject of numerous cricket trivia questions in the years to come! Sachin's weighing scale must've gone beserk because he's suddenly become the 100 ton man!!
Sophie Choudry: And he's created history! 100 100s! Outstanding! As if we didn't know it already, he is simply a class apart and the greatest! #Legend #Sachin.