It was one this very date (September 9) 25 seasons ago, a 21-year-old boy from Mumbai got his maiden ODI ton. And today the world cricket recognizes that youngster as one of the greatest batsmen of all time – Sachin Tendulkar.
Despite making his ODI debut in 1989, Tendulkar took nearly five years to get his first ton since he used to bat in the lower middle-order. However, after becoming an opener in 1994, the batting maestro compiled a flurry of hundreds and finished his career with a world record 49 ODI centuries to his name.
Coming to his first ODI ton, Tendulkar scored it against Australia in Colombo during a World Series match. He came on to open the innings along with Manoj Prabhakar and went on to smash 110 runs in 130 balls.
During that innings, the Master Blaster struck eight fours and two sixes. Thanks to his knock, India posted 246/8 in 50 overs and then bowled out the opposition for 215 to win the match by 31 runs.
On the 25th anniversary of that century, International Cricket Council (ICC) paid a rich tribute to Sachin through a tweet which read: “On This Day in 1994, Sachin Tendulkar scored his first ODI hundred, against Australia in Colombo... and the rest is history!”
As far as Sachin Tendulkar’s overall ODI record is concerned – he represented India in 463 games, scoring 18426 runs at an average of 44.83 with 49 tons and 96 fifties.
