Hyderabad:Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is not just a name, it is an emotion in a cricket frenzy nation called India. Tendulkar, also known as 'God of Cricket' among cricket enthusiasts, has shattered various records in his two-and-a-half-decades-long career. However, the record for which cricket experts and fans waited the most was 100 international hundreds in international cricket -- Tendulkar's most sought after and illustrious record, a feat that still stands tall among a plethora of other records.
Tendulkar is a man of many firsts, he was the first male cricketer to smash a double hundred in ODI cricket, he was the first one to score 10,000 ODI runs, 50 Test tons, 20 ODI hundreds, and 12,000 Test runs. Tendulkar just loved being the first man to touch every milestone.
And, he once again had a chance to become the first cricketer to achieve the impossible, 100 hundreds in international cricket.
It had been a year since his last international century, 369 days precisely when he scored his 99th international hundred against South Africa on March 12, 2011, at Nagpur during the World Cup.
After a long wait, the day finally arrived on March 16, 2012 when Tendulkar brought an end to cricket's one of the most talked landmarks against Bangladesh as he became the first batsman to score 100 international centuries. He reached this milestone at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur. Tendulkar reached the three-digit figure for the 100th time in international cricket in the 44th over of the match with a sweet nudge behind the square leg.
Interestingly, it was also Tendulkar's first ODI hundred against Bangladesh. With this ton, Tendulkar joined the elite club of batsmen who has at least a ton against every Full Member of ICC in both Tests and ODIs.
Even though there was a lot of hype surrounding the landmark, when Tendulkar reached the much-desired feat, he did not oversell it. He just removed his helmet, waved his bat towards the crowds and looked up in the sky to pay homage to his late father. There was nothing special about Tendulkar's celebration and had one muted the sound of the audience, it would have seemed like any other hundred by an ordinary cricketer.
But it was not just another hundred and Tendulkar was no ordinary man. The entire stadium paid a standing ovation and the sound of the crowd could have been heard from way away from the ground. Along with the crowd, Tendulkar's teammates were also celebrating his feat and several Bangladeshi cricketers also walked in to congratulate the Indian for doing the impossible once again.
Tendulkar's 100th international hundred was not his most decorated or swashbuckling innings. If anything, his 114 runs innings against Bangladesh was all about efficient accumulation in the start and then slowing down as he neared the mark of the three-digit figure. Tendulkar completed his century off 138 balls with the help of 10 fours and a six.
Tendulkar was removed after he scored 114 runs as India posted 289/5 but was not able to defend it. India lost the match by five wickets, but the cricket fans in India were celebrating because once again their 'God' had reached a milestone that was once considered impossible.
Here are the list of records made by Tendulkar:
⦁ Most ODIs played: 463
⦁ Most number of Man of the Match awards: 62
⦁ Most number of Man of the Series awards: 15
⦁ Longest ODI career: 22 years 91 days
⦁ Most ODI runs: 18426 (ave.44.83) in 463 matches
⦁ Most ODI tons: 49
⦁ Most centuries against any team: 9 vs Australia
⦁ Only player to score 8 or more hundreds against two nations: 9 vs Australia and 8 vs Sri Lanka
⦁ Most 50-plus innings: 195 (49 centuries and 96 fifties)
⦁ Most runs in a calendar year: 1894 (ave.65.31) in 34 matches in 1998