5 best overseas Test knocks by Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, often addressed to as ‘The God Of Cricket’, has featured in 664 international matches, including 200 Tests. Tendulkar made his debut at the age of 16 against a mighty Pakistan bowling line-up with the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Imran Khan.
Tendulkar failed miserably in his first few Tests but the 57 he scored with a broken nose was unarguably the turning point of his Test career. His confidence as a 16-year-old rose to new heights after that knock and it helped India draw the game.
Over the course of his career, Tendulkar scored 100 hundreds, including 51 Test hundreds. Out of those 51, 29 came away from home. On this note, let us take a look at five most memorable 100s by Sachin Tendulkar on overseas tours.
#5. 116 v Australia, Melbourne(1999)
On a hot day in Melbourne, the capacity crowd of 60,000 was to see a masterclass from the Master Blaster in the boxing day Test match. The Australians had a fierce bowling attack. Glenn McGrath, debutant Brett Lee and Damien Fleming were the three pacers alongside the magician Shane Warne as the lone spinner.
The Kangaroos scored 405 in their first innings and the Indians were off to another horrible start as they lost both their openers early. Tendulkar walked out to bat at number four but soon after his arrival, Rahul Dravid gave his wicket away.
With India being reduced to 31 for 3 Tendulkar decided to counter-attack and he did it with the utmost perfection. The flamboyant batsman scored 116 off 191 balls with nine fours and a six to his name. While the second highest scorer was Ganguly with a mere 31, the Master Blaster helped India to 238.
However, his efforts went in vain as India lost the Test match. Tendulkar, though, was still awarded the man of the match award for his 116 and 52.