Top 5 defining moments of Sachin Tendulkar’s career in ODIs

Here are five of the defining moments of Sachin Tendulkar's ODI career.

March 18, 2012, is a date that none of the fans of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar can forget. This is the date when perhaps one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time, played his last 50-over international for Team India, against Pakistan and bid goodbye to a career full of records.

Tendulkar retired from ODIs with 18426 runs in 463 matches. He averaged 44.83 and had a strike rate of 86.23 with a world record 49 hundreds and 96 half-centuries. He also picked 154 wickets with two five-wicket hauls and the best bowling of 5/32.

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Many of his ODI records still stand and some may even be unbreakable and not only records, but Sachin Tendulkar has given us umpteen moments to cherish in his 24-year cricket career, some of which can be called defining ones.  

Therefore, today Team COC looks at five such defining moments of Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI career.

Check out the Top 5 defining moments of Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI career

Heroics in the 2003 World Cup

The 2003 World Cup was played in South Africa and it was a big moment for the Indian team after the disappointment of the previous edition in England in 1999. India had a new captain in Sourav Ganguly, who had prepared his own brilliant unit which was a perfect mix of youngsters and experienced players.

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Sachin remained a valuable member of this unit and was tasked with carrying the batting on his shoulders. As per quotes from Rahul Dravid, his teammate in the world event, Sachin didn’t face a single delivery in nets throughout the tournament and just received hundreds of throwdowns before matches.

Despite this, the master managed 673 runs in the tournament, which remains the most by a batsman in a single World Cup event. Though Tendulkar managed just one century, which was 152 against Namibia, he played crucial innings of 98 against Pakistan and 97 against Sri Lanka.

Sachin gave us some cherishable moments like the six on a hook shot off Andy Caddick against England and the still amazing cut shot off Shoaib Akhtar that went over the point fielder for a six. It was just cruel that such performance couldn’t warrant World Cup trophy, as India fell short to Australia in the finals.

117* and 91 in the 2008 CB series finals

Team India had qualified for the finals of the CB series triangular in 2007-08 after beating out Sri Lanka and set up the dates for the best of three finals against the host Australia. The Indian team had never won a tri-series in Australia, apart from a five-nation Benson and Hedges World Championship in 1985.

Australia was without their two biggest assets in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, both of whom had retired the previous year. The onus of victory fell in team India on the shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar and the bowlers and both came to the party in the two most important matches.

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In the first final, Indian bowlers kept the Australian side to 239/8 with only Matthew Hayden making 82 runs. In reply, Sachin anchored one end with a sublime 117* in 120 balls with 10 fours. It was his first century in an ODI in Australia and with the help of 66 from a young Rohit Sharma, took India to a six-wicket victory with over 4 overs to spare.

In the second final, Tendulkar again starred with the bat, scoring a brilliant 91 with 7 fours in 121 balls. He along with contributions from Uthappa, Gambhir, Yuvraj, and Dhoni, took India to 258/9. In reply, half-centuries from Matthew Hayden and James Hopes kept Australia’s spirits alive, but Indian bowlers proved to be too good with Praveen Kumar picking 4/46.

Sachin Tendulkar proved once again that he was the master of important matches when it comes to playing against the Australians, a replay of something he did a decade ago in Sharjah.  

1998 Desert Storm

Who can forget Sachin Tendulkar’s single-handed demolition job against Australians in the 1998 Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah. The tri-series featured India, Australia, and New Zealand and we saw some amazing encounters between the three sides who played 4 games each.

The last round-robin match between India and Australia was a crucial one as the Men in Blue needed to reach the target in a certain number of overs to make it into the finals on a better net run rate over New Zealand.

Australia batted first and thanks to 101* from Michael Bevan and 81 from Mark Waugh, put on 284/7 in 50 overs, something that was considered to be a winning one in those days.

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This meant India needed to make 254 atleast to qualify for the finals and Sachin Tendulkar took it upon himself to do the job. He responded with a phenomenal 143, his highest ODI score at the time and took apart the likes of Shane Warne, Damien Fleming and Michael Kasprowicz in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

A sandstorm halted the play for 25 minutes and the qualification target was reduced to 236 from 46 overs and Tendulkar upped the tempo by thumping Moody and Warne into stands and hit 9 fours and 5 sixes in 131 balls. He received help from Nayan Mongia (35) and VVS Laxman (23).

India finished on 250/5 in 46 overs, falling short by 26 runs of the revised target of 276. However, Tendulkar’s innings enabled India to reach the finals and his inning of 143 was immortalized as the Desert Storm.

Two days later, on April 24, which was Sachin’s 25^th birthday, India met Australia in the finals of the tournament and Tendulkar celebrated his special day with a brilliant 134 in 131 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes and with captain Azharuddin’s 58, helped India chase down the 273-run target with more than 9 balls to spare. 

2011 World Cup win

Sachin Tendulkar had done everything to do in the world of cricket in ODI format. However, one thing that was missing from the master’s cabinet was the World Cup trophy. He had come very close to winning one in 2003, but this time in 2011, the tournament was played at home and pressure was immense.

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It was visibly Tendulkar’s final appearance in the World Cup tournament and the MS Dhoni-led team made it their objective to win the tournament for Tendulkar. He himself left no stone unturned scoring two amazing centuries against England and South Africa and then made a masterful 85 against Pakistan in the all-important semi-final in Mohali.

Tendulkar did all he could and though he failed in the finals, he ended up with 482 runs in the tournament and memorable knocks from Gautam Gambhir (97) and MS Dhoni (91*) took India to their second World Cup title win in front of the home crowd in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The team lifted Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders, with him waving the tricolor above with tears of joy and accomplishment flowing down his face.  

The first-ever 200 in a Men’s ODI

Women’s cricket had seen a double hundred in ODI cricket 13 years before a male cricketer got to the milestone. Belinda Clark had slammed 229* against Denmark in the 1997 Women’s World Cup in Mumbai.

However, the fans had to wait till 2010 for a male cricketer to make a double ton in ODIs and it was poetic justice that the first to do it was India’s Sachin Tendulkar, considered to be the greatest modern-day limited-overs batsman.

The occasion was the second ODI between India and South Africa, which was played in Gwalior on Feb 24, 2010.

India batted first on a batting beauty and though Sehwag fell early for 9 runs, Sachin Tendulkar continued battering the Proteas bowlers which consisted of Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Charl Langeveldt, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy. Tendulkar got support from Dinesh Karthik (79 from 85 balls) and MS Dhoni (68* from 35 balls).

But it was Tendulkar, who hit 25 fours and 3 sixes en route to hitting Langeveldt to the point fielder to complete a historical single, which took him to the magical score of 200, which came in 147 balls.

It was an amazing feel-good moment for fans who saw one of the popular batsmen ever get to a milestone which had been previously unconquered and no one can take it away from him, that Sachin Tendulkar was the first male batsman to hit 200 in an ODI.