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Sachin Tendulkar Test Centuries Archive

ludhianvi

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dial_100

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This thread should have all comments deleted' date=' then locked and stickied[/quote'] Thats a very good idea. At least let's push all the comments after the 50th is posted. Lets delete all, post 50th TON and then open it for comment. What a fantastic idea Ludh buddy. :two_thumbs_up:
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Century # 50 : 111* v South Africa at Centurion 19,20 December 2010 126131.jpgScorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-india-2010/engine/match/463146.html Tendulkar focussed amid the frenzy He was in a foreign land. At least a land that has stayed the most foreign to India even after their resurgence away from home. They started chanting "Sachin, Sachin" from the time he guided one past short third man to move to 88. There were whites, there were blacks, there were browns at the grass banks of SuperSport Park, and all they wanted was for Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test hundred to come in front of them. It was difficult to not let that affect you, but Tendulkar was in a different sphere. He was trying to save a game, trying to kill time, trying to run through the deficit. He took his time to get to 89, and South Africa tried to cut out boundary-scoring areas. A forward short leg came in, Morne Morkel bowled bouncers - around the helmet area, and into the ribs. Tendulkar kept ducking, the lower ones he kept keeping out; if he was nervous, he wasn't showing it. Against Paul Harris, who has somehow managed to be India's nemesis, he hit a straight six to send the crowd into frenzy again. The chants started again. When at 97, he faced another flurry of bouncers. One of them went for five wides. Ten deliveries he spent on 97. Then came Dale Steyn. He got an inside-edge past midwicket to move to 99. Then he squirted one between cover and extra cover, celebrating as he ran the 100th run. Not extravagantly. The helmet came off, the back arched a bit, and he looked up to the skies. Tendulkar later spoke of the moment when he reached the milestone. "The first thing obviously I thought of was my father because I wanted to do it for him," he said. "Yesterday was his birthday, and I would like to dedicate this to him." Tendulkar didn't know what to make of the landmark. Perhaps the match situation - India are on the verge of a defeat despite his and MS Dhoni's effort - had something to do with it. Perhaps it is taking time to sink in. "I don't know. I am okay. It's just another number for me. It's nice. Obviously I can't say I am not happy, I am happy. But I don't know how to express this. It's good that it has come. Hopefully it doesn't stop, it continues." Tendulkar remembered his first Test that was played against an attack that comprised three greats. He was quick to remind the reporters of Abdul Qadir's presence too, to go with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan. "It was challenging," he said. "I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot on that tour and whenever I have played them. It's been a fantastic contest." Tendulkar has had a bumper 2010, this being his seventh Test century to go with the only double-century in the history of ODIs. Of his remarkable form, he said: "Just been batting and enjoying. Sometime you are striking the ball really well and that is when you need to cash in as much as possible. I only try to do that. I felt that the last couple of years I have been moving well. Also the frame of mind. It's a habit, and once you build that habit, it's a good habit to carry on tours and back home in India as well." Tendulkar also reiterated that records have just happened to come his way while he has been doing what he loves the most. "I am playing for the love of it," he said. "If I was chasing records, I wouldn't have missed those one-day matches in between. I have had to pace myself. I thought I was not in top physical condition, and I needed some break and requested the board for the rest so I stay fresh. If I were chasing records, I wouldn't have done that. Its about producing quality cricket, and that's what I want to do." t9ve61.jpg Sachin's 50th as good as Perth hundred: Srikkanth Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test hundred was among the best knocks in his career, according to chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth. “I was there when he made his hundred at Perth (114, February 1992), and I think this innings was as good as that,†he said. “The conditions at Perth were more difficult, with the ball flying around off the cracks, but this innings was equally great, the way he handled the situation, with India facing a deficit of more than 480.†Srikkanth was speaking here on Monday while launching two new business ventures. The former India skipper said that the toss had played a crucial role in India's defeat at Centurion. “I think it was 90 per cent because of the toss,†he said. “I'm not making excuses, but they were unlucky to bat in those damp conditions on day one. I was proud of the way they batted in the second innings. Looking at that, you can't say that they cannot play fast bowling on bouncy wickets.†Evolving Tendulkar remains India's best The way things have panned out in this Test it would seem nothing has changed. Another stirring hundred from Sachin Tendulkar is likely to be, barring a washout tomorrow, in a hopelessly losing cause. And once again, the personal landmark of India’s favourite son will ease the pain of the failure of the team. Tendulkar’s 50th hundred will make it to the front pages tomorrow while the story of impending defeat will remain in the back pages. Of course many things have changed. India are no longer a one-man team. Whatever they have achieved in this decade, including reaching the No. 1 status in the ICC rankings, a feat unimaginable when Tendulkar started playing, is because they have had an outstanding bunch of players. But that he should, after 21 years, still be India’s finest batsman in conditions that challenged all India batsmen, is almost as incredible as him getting to 50 Test hundreds. In my memory it was John Wright who first spoke about 100 hundreds for Tendulkar. And he did it casually during a post-interview chat in February 2002. “It’s down to him how he wants to bat, how much he wants to push the envelope,†Wright, then India’s coach, said. “I have told him he should go for 100 hundreds.†It seemed almost fanciful then. Tendulkar’s tally was 59 at that point, 28 in Tests and 31 in ODIs, and he was nearly 30. But nothing about Wright was ever fanciful; he must have known. But could he have imagined that Tendulkar would have his most prolific year in international cricket eight years from then? There was time a couple of years ago when it seemed inevitable that Ricky Ponting will overtake Tendulkar both in career runs and Test hundreds. Ponting, a couple of years younger, now finds himself in an extended, and perhaps, unarrestable, decline, while Tendulkar has reeled off seven Test centuries and over 1500 runs since the beginning of the year with a Test to go. Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to discuss Tendulkar’s batting with two players who have played alongside him and count among the sharpest observers in the game. Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out how Tendulkar had managed to so tighten his game that he now had the best defensive technique among the batsmen he had watched. Rahul Dravid, who shares with Tendulkar the record for most century partnerships, spoke about his backlift. “It’s amazing how he has minimised it and yet is able to generate so much of power.†So when you next hear Tendulkar talk about wanting to get better, he is not merely dishing out a quote. Unbelievably, he is still working on his game, and the runs are hardly a coincidence.

@SrBachchan Sachin !!! Sachin !!! Sachin !! Saccchhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin !! Sachin !! ... you have done the country so proud ! Congratuations @mangeshkarlata Sachin ...iske aage hum, aur Kya kahein? Heartiest congratulations! U have brought further glory to d country! God bless u! @ashabhonsle Many Congrats @sachin_rt ,, If he doesn't deserve Bharat Ratna even now.. I wonder who does!! @Maheshbhupathi SRT as always inspirational...standing ovation!! @sreesanth36 Sachin tendulkar paaji is the best cricketer the world has ever seen.the one and only God of cricket @ShashiTharoor Tendulkar's 50th Test hundred! Amongst his most important for India, saved us from humiliation. Thrilled!Admiration unbounded for @sachin_rt @yuvsingh09 Greatest achievement by a bats man ever! His name is sachinnnnnnn tendulkarrrrrrrrrr!! Wooohooooooooo @juniorbachchan Bow down people!!!! The master blaster just rocked da house!!! We are privileged to have lived in the same time as you sachin. @sardesairajdeep forget raja, adarsh, cwg for atleast 24 hours. rejoice that the greatest cricketer to have walked this earth was indian. @cricketaakash Paying tribute to the master...Brilliant effort, Paji. Congrats on your 50th century. Majority of players don't even play that many Test matches in their entire career. And here's a man rewriting history books every other day! @bhogleharsha there is little doubt in my mind that this is one of the great moments in test cricket
Match Result: India lost by an innings and 25 runs
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Century # 51 : 146 v South Africa at New Lands, Cape Town 04 Jan 2011 mbswhk.jpgScorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/463148.html Tendulkar and Steyn sizzle in a battle for the ages Years later, or weeks later, or days later, when they talk about this series, regardless of the result, they will talk about two Dale Steyn spells that started the first two sessions of the third day of the Cape Town Test. Perhaps the 11 best overs anyone can bowl for just two wickets. It was perfect outswing bowling at high pace, often pitching leg, missing off, too often too good for the batsmen. And if it can be considered possible, after that wicketless first spell, Steyn came out to bowl even better. If one were to strain and look for a possible criticism, it was that he bowled just one straighter one and two bouncers in the first chunk of five overs. Everything else was close to perfect. There wasn't even a no-ball; loose balls were a distant thought altogether. To appreciate Sachin Tendulkar's effort today - his fourth century off his first innings in each of the last four years - it is important to appreciate the most exciting bowler in world cricket at his best. It was just such a day of Test cricket. Of the 66 balls from hell that Steyn bowled in those two spells, which went for 13 runs and took two wickets, Tendulkar negotiated 48. In that mix of some masterful defending, some luck (he could not have survived that without luck), and huge responsibility, is the difference between India's being even and being woefully behind by the end of the third day. There was no counterattack there: Steyn was too hot to touch for that. It was good old-fashioned buckling down, doing your best and hoping that the good deliveries are too good for the edge. Then again, Tendulkar played five back-to-back Steyn overs for 10 runs - six of them unintentional - and in this modern world, that calls for an injudicious shot to release the incredible pressure. He reserved the releasing of pressure for Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who bowled well too, but in comparison to Steyn he was like Mother Teresa. Calculated risks were taken: the premeditated pull and the upper-cut in Tsotsobe's first over of the day. Tendulkar had tired Steyn down, Gautam Gambhir had done the same to Morne Morkel, and with some sort of authority established over Tsotsobe's bowling, it was time for Tendulkar to reap the rewards for the hard work in the first hour. As South Africa awaited the new ball, out came the delicate run-scoring shots, the drives through cover and extra cover, the check drives straight down the ground, the nudges, the paddle sweeps, and the steers to third man. Then, as he approached his century and also the second new ball, Tendulkar saw Gambhir get out, and contributed to Laxman's dismissal through a lovely straight hit off Paul Harris. Time, again, for the old-fashioned Test batting to kick in. This time he was surer with Steyn, coming well forward to defend, using soft hands, and leaving better, sometimes perilously close to off stump. That couldn't be said of Cheteshwar Pujara, who got an unplayable one from Steyn, and MS Dhoni. Three of Tendulkar's four recent new-year centuries have featured partnerships with the tail - in Sydney, in Chittagong and here. It is something we don't appreciate often enough with Tendulkar, because those after him have in the past inflicted heartbreak on him. Today, Tendulkar took the responsibility again. He shielded Harbhajan Singh from Steyn, and asked him to go after the others. It worked. And in a strange show of outdoing MS Dhoni in terms of defensive captaincy, Smith spread out the fields. That was the only downer on a perfect day of Test cricket, but Tendulkar would have taken it any day. He started manoeuvring the strike, and soon even Harbhajan saw spread-out fields. The partnership bloomed, and Tendulkar got surer, better and more severe on loose deliveries. Even through those deep fields, Tendulkar found runs, hitting Harris for a six over long-off, driving Morkel through the covers, and cutting between the third man and deep point to take couples to retain strike. If respect from the opponent were a yardstick to measure an effort, Tendulkar came out glowingly from his examination today. Even though on the field, Steyn had a verbal go at Tendulkar, and even though the series is now getting a bit ugly as it approaches its end, Steyn has this to say about Tendulkar's innings: "Sachin is a really good player. I have heard one or two guys remark about the speed and everything I have been bowling at, but he is such a good player, there is no point wasting your energy bowling at him. You tend to save your energy and tend to bowl at other guys. If you bowl a good bowl to him, or a No. 11 batter, it's going to remain a good ball. So it was a good contest going on." Tendulkar's role in making today one of the best days of Test cricket in recent memory cannot be overstated. But for him, it would have been a much more memorable day for Steyn and South Africa, but we would not have been entertained as much as we were. If Rafael Nadal hadn't come around, we would have remembered Roger Federer's incredible shots, not his matches. jrfjpc.jpgA Day of Cricket to Regale Grandkids With By Gaurav Sabnis (blogger) http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-of-cricket-to-regale-grandkids-with.html Decades from now, when I am an insufferable old codger, I'll occasionally grab my grandkids by the elbow (like uncle Leo from Seinfeld) and ramble on about test cricket. Today's 3rd day of play of the Capetown test between India and South Africa is bound to come up most of those times. For today was one of those rare, almost perfect examples of why test cricket is the most ultimate sport there is. Sure, some of our best cricketing memories are of splendid individual achievements - double and triple centuries, eight wicket hauls, and close final sessions of play. Most of those memories feature one individual or team being utterly dominant or triumphing in the end against all odds. There's usually a win or loss involved. Be it Murali's mind-boggling 16 wicket haul at the Oval in 1996 or Sehwag's breath-taking 293 at Brabourne or the last day of the 2005 Edgbaston Ashes test, there's usually a winner and a loser. Today at Newlands, there were no losers. What made it even more exciting - there were no statistically opulent "winners". No one ran through a side in quick time or scored a flawless epic. Heck, no one even achieved, in the duration of the day, those two basic benchmarks of cricketing success; scoring 100 runs or taking 5 wickets. Tendulkar added 97 runs to his overnight score, Steyn added 4 wickets. And yet, today has to be the most memorable day of test cricket I have seen in many years....maybe ever! This was the 51st century for Tendulkar, arguably the best batsman to ever play the game. Most of those have been dominant, fluent, and solid knocks. In this one, he looked human. He was made to concentrate hard, guard his wicket, score runs cautiously, and was aided by luck. He had to bat almost 8 hours and put in his best. Considering the flawless form he has been in, if he had faced any other attack today, he'd have gone past a double hundred with ease. But he was made to work hard. He was made to look human by Dale Steyn. Steyn, easily the most destructive fast bowler the game has seen since the divine trinity of Akram-Donald-Ambrose, got his 16th 5-wicket haul. Most of his previous hauls have seen him run through sides with ease, typically in a couple of sessions. Half those fivers have come in 15 overs or less. Today, he bowled 31 overs, the most he's ever bowled for a fiver. He bowled with pace, made the ball move as much as a leg spinner does, tested the batsmen, and was hostile throughout. Against any other line-up, he would have probably ended up with 8-9 wickets for 30 runs in 15 overs. Tendulkar made him bend his back and work hard. He, and other Indian batsmen, made Steyn work hard for over 4 sessions to get 5 wickets. It was a day that can't be fully appreciated by watching the highlights. The highlights will be great to watch, of course. But the tension, the drama, the intrigue of watching (pardon the cliche) an irresistible force meet an immovable object as it happens, without knowing how it will turn out, is incomparable. Fight Club is a great movie to re-watch many times even if you know the end. But the thrill of watching it that first time can never be replicated. January 4th at Newlands in Capetown was one such day. It started off with Steyn bowling a hostile and flawless spell to Tendulkar, with Morkel bowling a brilliant spell to Gambhir at the other end. Both batsmen rode those spells out with fierce concentration, determination, admirable judgment about the length and swing, and firm knowledge of where their off-stump was. Tendulkar's expertise and mental strength is well known, and his negotiating the first hour play, even though laudable, was not completely unexpected. But Gautam Gambhir has been criticized by many (including yours truly) for not possessing the technique to survive in hostile conditions against top class pace bowling. He looked hopelessly out of place facing Morkel on the first day of the Centurion test just 3 weeks ago. From that arduous ordeal to this determined bout shows that what you lack in technique, you can make up in determination. He was assured in his leaves, confident in most of his strokes, a far cry from the first innings at Centurion. He too had some luck, but that was part of the appeal. His 93 may well end up as simply a footnote compared to the centuries by Kallis and Tendulkar. But to me, it was his finest innings yet, yes, even better than his gritty Napier graft. What makes test cricket so beautiful is that the game moves through roughly 45-minute portions of suspense, with the outcome unknown. In the first 45 minutes, the suspense over whether Tendulkar and Gambhir could survive the opening burst from Steyn and Morkel, had been answered. They had. The question now was, could they and would they cash in on the bowling of the support crew - Tsotsobe and Harris? The could was answered before the would. They could have if the two bowlers had been wayward and sloppy. But the two bowlers, while not as hostile and probing as Steyn-Morkel, were still punching above their weights. There were few easy runs on offer, hardly any four-balls, and although Tendulkar and Gambhir scored more freely, they could not run away with the game. A word about Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner. I don't like the guy. If he were in India, he couldn't make it to the top Ranji teams, forget the national team. he is low on talent, boring to watch, and quite obnoxious. I think India's capitulation to him at the same venue 3 years ago was disgraceful. And with Imran Tahir becoming eligible to play for South Africa, I am happy that this guy probably won't play many more tests. But today, I grudgingly doff my hat to the effort he put in. Although he had no answers to Tendulkar's broad bat, he found the perfect line to Gambhir and stuck to it - well outside the off-stump. Gambhir, a much much batsmen off spin than pace, resisted, occasionally used his feet. Didn't look in trouble, but didn't look fully at ease either. Harris persisted. he didn't get much turn. He never does. But one delivery pitched in the rough and turned sharply, clipping the handle of Gambhir's bat. It was a near-impossible chance for Boucher, and Gambhir survived, but Harris' persistence, coupled with luck in form of the one-off turn from the rough, was enough to sow doubts. The next delivery, Gambhir played for the turn which wasn't there, and was safely pouched by Boucher. Harris deserved the wicket. And although Gambhir missed a century, he had fallen in a way that didn't reflect poorly on him. This contest was typical of the entire day. Like I said, there were no losers. Laxman looked extremely at ease in his short stay at the crease. It was cut short by the unluckiest, most gut-wrenching way a batsman can be dismissed - run out to a straight drive deflected off a bowler's hand when backing up. In walked Pujara. Pujara survived till lunch, looking generally assured. Steyn was bowling the same probing line to him - sharply outswinging deliveries pitched just outside off-stump. And he looked reasonably solid handling them. Then came what was the ball of the day, even the ball of the decade (yes, I know it's a 4 day old decade!) from Steyn. It deserves its own paragraph. Usually a right handed bowler gets a right handed batsmen LBW off deliveries that either hold their line, or seam/swing into the batsman. Typically, bowlers set up such dismissals by bowling a few away-going deliveries and then slipping in one that doesn't. I am hard-pressed to remember an occasion when a right-hander, bowling over the wicket, bowled an away-going delivery that trapped the batsman plumb in front. The ball swung inwards after release, landed on the leg stump line, then, quite inexplicably, moved away, hitting Pujara on the pads on middle-and-off. 9 times out of 10...99 times out of hundred, even 999999 times out of 1000000, the delivery would be adjudged to miss the stumps. But this was plumb. NO ONE could have survived it. NO ONE. On one hand, I was distraught to see India crumbling. On the other hand, I was thrilled to have seen such a physics-defying dismissal. Just as I was wrestling with these conflicting emotions, Dhoni suffered his first true failure of the series. Two wickets for Steyn in the same over. India were behind by 115. Unless the Indian tail emulated the South African effort from the first innings, the test would be in South Africa's pocket in half an hour. Out came Harbhajan. He started the way he always does - attempting (and sometimes connecting with) flat batted swats after leaving his stumps open. Rode his luck a bit. Got to double figures. Then, the only "bad" bit of cricket happened. Smith spread the field, sending catchers to presumably have Harbhajan caught in the outfield. Harbhajan cleverly shifted gears, now protecting his stumps and playing in the traditional way. He kept scoring, but cautiously. Tendulkar, glad to have found an ally, also kept scoring at a decent pace. Excellent batting triumphed over earnest bowling in that 45 minute suspense interval, and kept going. Harbhajan survived for almost two hours, and by the time he fell to a rush of blood off a Seyn bouncer, India trailed by only 39. Zaheer also started off with swats, but didn't seem to inspire much confidence from Tendulkar. But some risk-taking brought the deficit down to 20. Then Tendulkar fell to a fine delivery from Morkel, who was finally rewarded for his untiring efforts. It was a good ball, but Tendulkar had kept out most such balls. This time, he left a huge gap between bat and pad. He fell, but had done the most he could. Some lusty blows by Zaheer and Sreesanth look India past the South African total, but by just 2 runs. For all practical purposes, the first innings ended dead even. The South African reply started confidently, aided by some wayward bowling by the Indian pacers. Dhoni brought Harbhajan on towards the end of the day's play and he struck twice in 3 overs - removing Smith and the night watchman Harris LBW off deliveries that got more assistance from the rough than Harris' ever did. The day ended with the test match on an even keel, the same way it had started. The next two days are bound to be absorbing. Barring dramatic collapses from either side, and given the quality of the bowling on offer combined with a wearing pitch, this contest should go to the final hour of the fifth day. But whatever happens, is only tangentially relevant to the sheer ecstasy of watching today's play. No matter what happens, 40 years from now, I will narrate the details of Day 3 to my grandkids. Or to your grandkids. or to pigeons on a park bench. Match Result: Draw

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VRV Singh

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Thanks to all the contributors. Have read the whole thread. Very cool not only to go through Tendulkar's hundreds, but generally remembering everything else. Steyn v Tendulkar :hail:, Clarke v India :((, Ashish Nehra's debut :fear:

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