Sachin Tendulkar’s toughest century

• Rashel Ahamed
• December 10, 2024
• Sports
• Dravid, Indian cricket team, Pakistan, Pakistan cricket team, Prasad, Sachin, Sachin Tendulkar, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, Waqar, Wasim
• 0 Comments

Sachin Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Some say the greatest of all time. He is the only batsman to have scored a century of centuries in international cricket. Of these, 51 were in Tests. There is no opponent against whom he has not scored a century. There is no continent where he has not scored a century. He has scored a century on every opponent’s ground except Zimbabwe. Among all these centuries, which was the most toughest century? In Sachin Tendulkar’s own words, it was the innings of 136 runs against Pakistan in 1999.

The Pakistan-India series was desired for many reasons. Due to political animosity, these two teams were facing each other in a Test series after 16 years. One team had the best batting line-up in the world, the other team had the best bowling line-up in the world. Everyone was sure that the series would be competitive. On top of that, India had not lost a series at home for 10 consecutive times before that series. This statistic speaks in favor of India. Again, another statistic speaks in favor of Pakistan. The last series they lost at home was against Pakistan.

Let’s take a look at that innings and at the same time the match that seemed the most difficult for a batsman like Sachin.

First innings

Pakistan won the toss and wanted to bat. It was expected. In such series, no team usually wants to take the pressure of batting later. Pakistan’s batting start was also excellent. Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi put on a 32-run partnership in just 8 overs. Afridi was dismissed on the first ball of the 9th over, and the Indian bowlers immediately came back into the match. The highest partnership in the next four pairs was 25 runs. The result was that batsmen like Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Salim Malik were dismissed for a few runs and Pakistan was in danger after losing 5 wickets for just 91 runs. At that moment, Yusuf Yohana, who was playing only his 8th Test, took the responsibility of the entire team on his shoulders.

He was joined by Moeen Khan, who came out as a wicketkeeper. The partnership put on 63 runs, which was the highest in Pakistan’s first innings. A few more runs could have been scored, but Tendulkar stopped it. A harmless Darshan ball hit Yusuf’s pads, Sachin appealed for LBW. The umpire also gave him out. At that time, Pakistan’s score was only 154. Pakistan could have been all out for less than 200 runs, but Moeen Khan played an effective innings of 60 runs. Captain Wasim Akram gave him worthy company by playing an innings of 38 runs. Thanks to their 60-run partnership, Pakistan finally got a capital of 238 runs. Anil Kumble took 6 wickets and Srinath took 3 wickets.

Second innings

India’s batting line-up has always been famous. That time too was no exception. However, the two openers in the line-up were comparatively less bright. VVS Laxman (he had not yet become famous) and the debutant Ramesh. The next four were Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly respectively. Pakistan’s bowling line-up was also excellent. Spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and debutant Nadeem Khan were along with Wasim and Waqar. The Pakistani bowlers’ aim was to get back into the match by taking wickets as soon as possible. Because their batting collection was very small.

But the opposite of what everyone thought happened. Ramesh and Laxman kept on batting aggressively and continued to push the score forward. When Laxman was dismissed as the first batsman in 12.5 overs, India’s collection was 67 runs. Ramesh was out shortly after, before being out he scored 43 runs off 41 balls. The first two wickets were taken by Wasim Akram. Sachin Tendulkar entered the field. Saqlain Mushtaq was bowling. Sachin came down the wicket with the third ball and tried to hit it. The catch was taken due to poor timing. Sachin was out for zero runs. The Pakistanis came back into the match very quickly.

Within a short while, Azharuddin also returned for just 11 runs, leaving India at 103 for 4. Two half-centuries by Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly and an effective innings of 25 not out by Sunil Joshi in the lower order, saw India all out for 254 runs. Saqlain took 5 wickets, along with irregular bowler Afridi taking 3 wickets. Pakistan, who had the potential to take a 200-run lead, returned to the match with a lead of just 16 runs.

Third innings

The Pakistanis aimed to increase the target as much as possible. That is why expectations were high on the openers, especially Saeed Anwar. But Pakistan suffered their first setback when they were bowled out for just 7 runs. Afridi and Inzamam formed a partnership when Ijaz Ahmed also returned for a short run. Sachin dismissed Inzamam, then he also sent Yousuf back with a wonderful delivery. The ball fell far outside the leg stump and made a wonderful turn. It was bowled. At one end, Afridi almost single-handedly pulled Pakistan towards it. He got the first Test century of his career.

When Afridi was forming a partnership with Salim Malik, it seemed that Pakistan was moving towards a very big target. But India came back to the match very quickly. Pakistan was all out for just 286 runs from 275 for 4 with a wonderful spell by Venkatesh Prasad. Prasad took 6 wickets in the entire match, including 5 wickets in that spell. India’s target is 271 runs.

Fourth innings

Sachin Tendulkar made Century

The target was not very high. The last 20 overs of the third day, plus another 180 overs over the next two days. This means a target of 271 runs in 200 overs. But in Test cricket, it is always difficult to score runs in the fourth innings, and Pakistan’s bowling attack will be added to this. Waqar Younis, who had not taken any wickets in the previous innings, started the attack brilliantly at the beginning. In his second over, he dismissed the ever-hidden Ramesh, who had been playing well in the previous innings, for just 5 runs. Then in his third over, he dismissed another opener, Laxman, for a duck. India’s two hopes on the field were Dravid and Sachin.

These two batsmen spent that day without a hitch. The next day was important. Everyone knew that unless something big happened, the match was going to be decided on the fourth day. Wasim Akram bowled Dravid with a brilliant ball early in the day. It took just enough to make the off-stump belt fall. When Azhar and Ganguly were also dismissed for short runs by Saqlain Mushtaq, India’s total was 82 for 5. Sourav Ganguly’s dismissal was unfortunate. It touched the ground before Moin Khan took the catch, but it escaped the eye of the leg umpire. To win, they need to score 189 more runs, and apart from Sachin, there is no other recognized batsman. With this, the Pakistanis are playing fireballs. The target seemed very big. Sachin Tendulkar probably looked a little far away. He wanted to understand the target first, and then moved towards it. The wicketkeeper who was with him, Nayan Mongia, also gave worthy support. The pair’s 136 runs in 44 overs brought India back into the match. With only 53 runs remaining, Sachin, who has been batting brilliantly, and Nayan Mongia, who has scored a half-century, are in the match. The score was leaning in India’s favor. But it was probably Nayan Mongia who made the mistake. He took the catch while trying to pull Wasim Akram. At that time, it was wise to play with a cool head. Sunil Joshi, who had scored 25 runs in the previous innings, entered the field.

He also started playing well with Sachin. He hit Saqlain with a huge six to show that the day belonged to India. At that moment, Sachin Tendulkar lay down on the field with back pain. The entire Indian nation was restless with fear. Just a few more runs. Wasim Akram hit a four with a wonderful straight drive to bring down the target to 30. The Pakistanis needed a mistake from the batsmen to come back into the match. Finally, Sachin himself gave them that opportunity. In one over of Saqlain, he hit two fours in a row to bring down the target to 17. By that time, 10 runs had been scored in that over.

Sachin took the catch while hitting Saqlain for another four. Well, that was all Pakistan needed. The Pakistanis, especially Wasim Akram, were ready to cut the tail of the lower order. Will they miss this opportunity again? The target of 17 runs seemed insurmountable for the Indians. Wasim and Saqlain took the last 3 wickets in the next 4 runs, getting a remarkable victory by 12 runs. Saqlain again took 5 wickets in the innings, 10 wickets in the match.

Despite playing such a remarkable innings, Sachin Tendulkar had to be on the losing side. However, Sachin Tendulkar won the Man of the Match award by beating Saqlain, who took 5 wickets in both innings, or Afridi, who played an extraordinary innings of 141 runs.

The bowlers were bowling brilliantly and getting wickets, their fellow batsmen were leaving the field one after another, the target was gradually getting tougher – in such a situation, it was actually difficult to come back into the match by fighting with the lower order batsmen. And that is why choosing his toughest innings did not become difficult for Sachin. In fact, this Test was a difficult chapter in Test cricket.