Reliving Sachin Tendulkar's Test Centuries: Century 41-45
This series of articles looks relives the magic of the 51 centuries that Sachin Tendulkar in Test cricket. Many of them were a treat for anyone who was privileged enough to have seen them live, while others showed the master's determination to grind the opposition when the chips were down. On the other hand, there were certain innings that completed a stinging counterattack in the midst of a crisis.
Here is a look at his 41st century through to the 45th and although these were scored in the latter half of his career, these are a microcosm of the sort of centuries that Tendulkar scored in his career.
5 103 not out v England at Chennai, 2008
Sachin Tendulkar's 41st century was a special one for a number of reasons. It came in the first Test match hosted in India following the November 2008 terror attacks in his home city of Mumbai and the century helped India successfully chase down the 2nd highest target in their history.
After India could only respond with 241 to England's 1st innings total of 316, they were left with an uphill battle as the visitors set them a daunting target of 387 in just over 3 sessions. Virender Sehwag''s opening salvo of 83 off just 68 balls evened things out and then Sachin Tendulkar took over on the last day.
He was patient and calculating throughout the duration of the innings and seemed determined to see India home to a famous win. Tendulkar hit only 9 boundaries in his century but he also took lots of singles and in the company of Yuvraj Singh (85 not out), the master helped India record one of its most famous wins in recent memory.