Sachin Tendulkar scores only IPL ton ever on Apr 15, 2011 at the Wankhede; watch video

It can be argued that by the time T20 cricket became a force to be dealt with, Sachin Tendulkar was past his prime. However, the "Little Master" did not disappoint in his IPL stint for the Mumbai Indians from 2008-2013. And Thursday marked the 9-year anniversary of Sachin Tendulkar scoring his first and only IPL century ever against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

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Sachin Tendulkar IPL hundred: Little Master entertains the Wankhede on April 15, 2011

The Mumbai Indians were hosting the Kochi Tuskers Kerala in only the 13th match of the IPL 2011. The Wankhede was still freshly feeling the memories of India lifting the World Cup only 13 days ago. Tuskers captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and chose to bowl first. Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar and South African Davy Jacobs opened the batting for Mumbai. While Jacobs perished, Tendulkar kept grinding it out with Ambati Rayadu to keep Mumbai stable. The two stitched together a partnership of 116. As the final overs of the innings approached, it was evident that a Tendulkar hundred was on the horizon.

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Sachin Tendulkar, too, started batting aggressively and played some very atypical helicopter shots. It all came down to the final ball of the 20th over as Tendulkar needed a single to get to a hundred. The Little Master played it safe and slowly played away the final ball to run his 100th run. The Wankhede roared as Sachin Tendulkar acknowledged his home crowd. However, Mumbai's total of 182 proved too less for the Tuskers. Led by Brendon McCullum's 81 and captain Jayawardene's 56, Kochi ended up chasing down Mumbai's total with one over to go.

Sachin Tendulkar, however, went strong in that IPL and scored 553 runs, only losing the Orange Cap to Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. He led Mumbai to the playoffs but they lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second Qualifier. 

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Sachin Tendulkar IPL hundred highlights

(Video courtesy: BCCI/Tendulkar Zone)

The BCCI currently has the IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely according to latest reports. This has been done in view of the coronavirus outbreak that the country is facing. The IPL 2020 was supposed to begin on March 29. 

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