112* - SACHIN TENDULKAR
vs. Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 1995

It was 1995 and it had been just about a year since Sachin Tendulkar had started opening the innings for India in ODIs. India faced Sri Lanka in the 1995 edition of the Asia Cup in Sharjah and people expected sparks to fly off his bat and they did.

Sri Lanka chose to bat first, but with Venkatesh Prasad’s 3/37 and Javagal Srinath’s two wickets hurting them, managed to conjure up 202/9 in 50 overs. Hashan Tillakaratne top-scored with 48, as Ranatunga was yet to come up with the devastating Jayasuriya-Kaluwitharana opening combination.

India had a relatively easy score to chase and openers Tendulkar and Manoj Prabhakar went on to give a good start to the team. Prabhakar played a watchful inning of 60 from 79 balls with 7 fours, while Tendulkar erupted on Sri Lankan bowlers with a flurry of boundaries.

Tendulkar was severe of the opposition’s best fast bowler in Chaminda Vaas, as he went for 67 runs in 9 overs, while Ramanayake went for 38 in his 4.1 overs. Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 112 off 107 balls with 15 fours and 1 six to take India home for the loss of just two wickets and 17 overs to spare.

Here is the video of the innings: