The day Sachin Tendukar stepped in to play at Lord's
Captaining MCC XI to glory:
Sachin Tendulkar recently made a visit to the hallowed Mecca of Cricket, Lord's cricket ground. The Master Blaster led the MCC XI against the Rest of the World in Lord's Bicentenary celebration match on Saturday, July 5.
Chasing 294, the 41-year-old slammed a 45-ball 44 as his MCC side eased to a 7-wicket win. But when was the first time that Sachin had stepped in to play international cricket at Lord's? For that, one has to rewind back to the summer of 1990.
Stepping into Lord's as an international cricketer:
As a 17-year-old prodigy, Sachin was part of the Mohammad Azharuddin-led Test squad that toured England. In the opening Test of the 3-match series, Azhar drafted the teenager into the playing XI.
Azhar won the toss, and decided to send England in to bat on July 26. But the Indians would soon be witness to a mammoth triple ton by Graham Gooch. His 333, laced with 43 fours and 3 sixes, mocked the Indian bowling attack. Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, Ravi Shastri and co. had no answer to Gooch's fury. The English skipper, finally decided to declare the innings at 653 for 4.
In reply, India had to depend on tons from skipper Azharuddin (121) and Ravi Shastri (100) to escape a follow-on, as India managed 454. Playing in his 8th Test, and his first on English soil, Sachin had to bat as low as number 6 in the line-up. The teenager failed to read the seaming conditions and could only muster a 19-ball 10.
In the second innings, England again took over the proceedings, courtesy who else, but skipper Graham Gooch. Goochie raced to a 113-ball 123 as England declared at 272 for 4. Gooch became the first cricketer to score a triple ton in the first innings, and a ton in the second. His aggregate of 456 runs for the match remains a world record for a Test match.
Indian hopes of a win were all dusted aside, as the visitors were set a colossal target of 472. As the English bowlers ripped apart the Indian batting line up, Sachin stood strong. The kid from Mumbai, scored a dogged 65-ball 27 to give some resistance, while the Indians kept falling like a pack of cards. England eventually swept away the vivistors for 224, to register a 247-run win. But Sachin had his first taste of the challenges that await on the hallowed greens of Lord's. The teenage sensation learnt his lessons from this match, and eventually went on to score his first Test ton (an unbeaten 119), in the 2nd Test match of the series at Manchester.
Memories from a distant past:
Sachin here relives the occasion when he first visited Lord's. The Master Blaster recalls visiting Lord's as a 14-year-old kid. Have a look: