Sachin Tendulkar smashes Imran Khan and co. in 38-ball 49 knock at the age of 18: Watch

Former Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989 as a 16-year old. While the cricketer turned out to be one of the biggest legends of the game, the prodigy from Mumbai showed signs of his excellence in his early years itself. In October 1991, i.e. roughly two years after his international debut, the then 18-year-old scored a blitzkrieg 49 off just 38 balls against a Pakistani attack which comprised of the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

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A throwback to Sachin Tendulkar’s 1991 brilliance against Imran Khan and co.

In October 1991, India, Pakistan and West Indies toured Sharjah for a tri-nation ODI series. In the sixth match of the series, Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and opted to field first against their arch-rivals. Batting first, Pakistan scored a challenging total of 257-7 off their 50 overs on the back of Aamer Sohail’s 91 and then captain Imran Khan’s 43.

India’s run-chase began on a solid note with openers Ravi Shastri and Vinod Kambli putting on a 100-plus opening stand. However, 124-0 soon became 134-3 with breakthroughs from Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed and Akram Raza. A then 18-year old Sachin Tendulkar then joined forces with Sanjay Manjrekar and the duo stitched together an 85-run stand.

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Sachin Tendulkar scored 49 runs off just 38 balls in a counter-attacking innings that defied the likes of Imran Khan and co. His entertaining stroke-filled batting recital was fuelled by three boundaries and two sixes. However, the then youngster lost his wicket when India reached 240, i.e. just before he could successfully complete the run-chase. Thereafter, the Indian batsman crumbled under pressure and ended up falling four runs short of their target.

Sachin Tendulkar smashes Imran Khan and co. in 1991 Sharjah blitz, watch video

Sachin Tendulkar stats and centuries in international cricket

The Sachin Tendulkar stats register in international cricket comprises of some staggering numbers. Throughout his 24-year journey with Indian cricket between 1989 and 2013, the ‘Master Blaster’ amassed 100 centuries (51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs).  Against Pakistan alone, the right-handed batsman breached the 100-run mark on seven occasions (twice in Tests and five times in ODIs). To date, he remains the leading century-maker and highest run-aggregator (with 34,357 runs) in international cricket. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar centuries, the cricketer has bagged 200 wickets across all his Team India appearances and has also added 256 catches in his illustrious inventory.

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Image credits: ICC Twitter

VIDEO CREDITS: Cricket Classics