August 14, 1990: The Day ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar Scored His First International Century Against England at Old Trafford

Sachin Tendulkar was just 17 years, 112 days old when he hit his maiden Test ton. He became the third youngest player ever to score a Test hundred.

There are many reasons why legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar is known as the ‘God of Cricket’ in India. Tendulkar ruled the gentlemen’s game with his extraordinary skill-set for more than two decades. He went on to break several records during his stellar career which spanned for almost 24 years.

The 45-year old retired from all forms of international cricket in 2013. He played his last Test against West Indies at his home ground – Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Tendulkar still holds the record of scoring the most number of runs in the Test and ODI format. He retired from the game after scoring 15921 runs in Tests while he tallied 18426 runs in the One-Day Internationals.

And one of the most astonishing record the ‘Master Blaster’ has to his name is that of scoring 100 international centuries-51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs.

And his first international ton came exactly 28 years ago, in the second Test between India and England at Old Trafford in 1990, in which he saved the match for his side.

England, which won the toss, posted a humongous total of 519 in the first innings before being bowled out. In reply, India scored 432 courtesy magnificent 179 from captain Mohammed Azharuddin and 68 from Tendulkar. However, the visitors still fell short by 87 runs.

In the second innings, the hosts declared at 320/4, giving India a target of 408 to chase.

However, India didn’t have a great start and kept on losing wickets in regular interval. They were reeling at 127/5 when Tendulkar came out in the middle. From there on, he, alongside Manoj Prabhakar, played brilliantly and went on to score his first international ton. His inning of 119 consisted of 17 boundaries. Both him and Prabhakar, who also scored a half-century, took India to 343/6 before the stumps on the final day and thus saved the match for the team.

What is fascinating is that Tendulkar was just 17 years, 112 days old when he hit his maiden Test ton. He became the third youngest player ever to score a Test hundred.