A young fan's memories of Sachin Tendulkar - 4 memorable matches

Sachin Tendulkar

I was born in the year 1993. Sachin Tendulkar first turned up for India in 1989. From my earliest memories of cricket and my fascination towards the sport that gripped the nation like nothing else, Sachin Tendulkar has always been a constant part as if cricket and Sachin went hand in hand.

The nerve cracking tension when India lost a couple of early wickets and yet the eerie calmness knowing that someone blindly dependable was going to walk in at No 4, the excitement when he played his trademark cover drive or a loft over the bowler’s head, the sadness when he lost his wicket and the heartbreak when he missed a century, the emotions that I have felt as all of us must have through his batting. ‘Somewhere between Sachin’s debut and his retirement, we all grew up.

In a personal tribute, I set out to present my list of some unforgettable innings of the great man.

4) 117 vs Australia at Sydney, 2008: The first match of the best of 3 final of the CB series. A relatively young Indian side were gunning to bring down the mighty Australians and aiming to a first by winning a tri-series.

Tendulkar by then had not been in the best of touch and a few scores to settle – an ODI century in Australia, a century in 37 innings, a chase-winning century since 2001, a century in any chase since March 2004. India were in more than a spot of a bother with three down for 87, but Tendulkar combined effortlessly with Rohit Sharma to steady the ship.

He played a magnificent inning in the 120 deliveries he faced as he scored a brisk 117 to take India past the 239 set by Australia. As is clear, all the scores were also settled.