Sachin Tendulkar's maiden International century against England clocks 31 years

It was on August 14, 1990, 31 years ago, Sachin Tendulkar, the man who would later go on to turn cricket into religion in a country of a billion people, scored the first of his 100 international centuries against England at Old Trafford. He scored a majestic 119 not out on a fifth-day track to save the game for India. In the course, the Mumbaikar had also went on to become the third-youngest batsman to score a test century and was awarded his first Player of the Match award. England batted first and posted a mammoth total of 519 in the first innings with Graham Gooch, Michael Atherton, and Robin Smith scoring hundreds. 

Young Tendulkar saved the match for India en route his first ton 

In response, India scored 432 with skipper Mohammad Azharuddin scoring a brilliant 179. He was ably supported by 17-year-old Tendulkar, who scored 68. Allan Lamb scored a ton in the second innings which helped England set India an improbable target of 408 to win. India was reeling at 109/4 when Sachin Tendulkar came in to bat at number 6. Mohammad Azharuddin, who played a stunning knock in the first innings, was at the other end. However, Mohammad Azharuddin didn't last long as he was dismissed for 11, which reduced India to 127/5. Kapil Dev joined Tendulkar in the middle for a 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Dev departed after scoring 26 runs. Tendulkar and Manoj Prabhakar played cautiously and remained unbeaten on 119* and 26*, at the end of the fifth day, and the visitors successfully drew the match. The duo had a 160-run unbeaten stand. Meanwhile, Tendulkar also achieved the feat of scoring his first century across formats.  

Tendulkar's  illustrious career lasted for 24-long years 

In the years that followed, Tendulkar played 200 test matches, scoring a record 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78 studs with 51 hundred, whereas, in 463 one-day internationals, he amassed a staggering 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83, smashing 49 hundred and 96 fifties. The 'Master Blaster', who initially aspired to become a fast bowler, went on to own numerous batting records during his illustrious career. He also represented the country in six World Cups and was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad. After 24 glorious years of service to Indian cricket, the master batsman called it a day on November 16, 2013. It is worth mentioning here that apart from his numerous achievements on the cricket field, he remains the only sportsperson to have been conferred with the prestigious 'Bharat Ratna' award.  

Image Credits: ICC/Twitter