On this day in 1989, Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut as a 16-year-old and from this point, started the journey of a boy turning into a global cricketing icon and the most complete batter in the game.
Sachin made his debut against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the first Test of India’s tour to Pakistan.
Tendulkar’s first international assignment against Pakistan was a solid one. On the tour to Pakistan, he played four Tests and scored 215 runs across six innings at an average of 35.83. He scored two half-centuries with the best score of 59.
His ODI debut on the same tour in December was not all the debut he could have wanted, as he was dismissed for a two-ball duck.
But as the years passed, the stature of Sachin kept growing. Stories of his on-field rivalry with Australia’s late spin great Shane Warne, his ‘Desert Storm’ knock against Australia in 1998 at Sharjah, his uppercut six on Shoaib Akhtar delivery in the 2003 World Cup, his “straight as an arrow” straight drives or his each of his hundred centuries, Tendulkar gave world cricket plenty to cherish by the time he bid adieu to the sport in 2013, with the ultimate prize that is 2011 Cricket World Cup under his belt.
This legendary batter has plenty of records to his name.
Tendulkar played 200 Test matches, scoring 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78 with 51 tons and 68 half-centuries. His best score in this format is 248*. He is the leading run-scorer in Test history.
The ‘Little Master’ dominated the 50-over game as no other player did. In 463 matches, he scored 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83. He scored 49 tons and 96 half-centuries in this format. His best score in the format is 200*. He is the leading run-scorer in ODIs as well.
With a total of 34,357 runs, Sachin is the leading run-scorer in international cricket history.
He is the only individual in international cricket history to score a total of 100 centuries.
“The Superman from India”, as former cricketer Ravi Shastri remarked in his commentary, was also the first one to hit a double hundred in ODIs.
He has the most fours in Test history. His 2058-plus fours in the longer format is the testimony of his ability to find gaps effortlessly.
Sachin is the fastest to 10,000, 13,000, 14,000, and 15,000 runs in Test history. He was able to complete his 10,000 runs in 195 innings and 15,000 runs in 300 innings, which means, a total of around 5,000 runs made in 105 innings!
He holds the record for most runs in a calendar year in ODIs, scoring 1,894 runs in 33 innings in 1998 at an average of 65.31, with nine tons and seven fifties. He smashed nine centuries in 1998, which is the record for most centuries in a calendar year in ODIs.
Sachin also has the most fours in ODIs, with a total of 2016 fours.
He is the fastest to score 13,000 to 18,000 runs in ODIs. He scored 13,000 runs in 321 innings and 18,000 runs in 440 innings.
The batter has also made 664 international appearances, the most by any player.
