[Watch] Throwback to 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar's maiden international century in 1990
On this day in 1990, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar placed the cricketing world on notice by scoring his maiden international century at only 17. Having debuted for India in Tests and ODIs in 1989, Tendulkar went his first 15 international games without reaching three figures.
However, in the second Test of India's tour of England, the then-17-year-old finally smashed his first of 100 international centuries. After losing the series opener, India chased leather for much of the first innings as England piled on a mammoth 519 on the board at Manchester.
In reply, India displayed incredible resilience to score 432 with Tendulkar contributing an excellent 68 batting at No. 6. England continued their terrific batting by scoring 320/4 declared in their second essay to set India an improbable target of 408 to keep the series alive.
Tendulkar walked to the crease with the visitors in trouble at 109/4 and scored a brilliant 119* off 189 deliveries. His knock helped India survive and salvage a well-earned draw to stave off a series loss. They eventually finished on 343/6 in 90 overs as the Little Master struck 17 glorious boundaries in his defiant vigil.
Here is the video of Tendulkar's breathtaking maiden international century under trying circumstances:
Tendulkar remains the third youngest batter to score a Test century at 17 years and 107 days behind only Mohammad Ashraful and Mushtaq Mohammad.
He was also the Player of the Match in the Manchester Test for his sublime batting in both innings.
Sachin Tendulkar remains the all-time leading run-scorer in international cricket
![Tendulkar boasts several batting records in international cricket [Credit: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/08/6d671-17236093955021-1920.jpg?w=500)
Despite a relatively slow start to his international career, Sachin Tendulkar enjoyed unparalleled success through the 1990s and 2000s to cement his place in the history books of batting records.
The champion batter remains the all-time leading run-scorer in international cricket with 34,357 runs in a staggering 664 games. Furthermore, Tendulkar is also the leading run-scorer in ODIs and Tests with 18,426 and 15,921 runs, respectively.
The now-51-year-old also has the most international centuries - 100 - and the most Test centuries with 51. He was recently surpassed by Virat Kohli for most ODI centuries when the ace batter scored his 50th ton in 50-over cricket during the 2023 World Cup.
Tendulkar finished his decorated 24-year international career with a Test match against the West Indies on his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium, in November 2013.