Away average is 54.
Averages 64 in matches won (50).
Averages 82 in matches won abroad (15 matches). 66 without Bangladesh (11 matches).
Has 2 MoM awards in matches India has won (11MoMs in all), both in India in the 1990s.
Currently holds the world record for maximum Test runs (12,429) and maximum Test centuries (41).
Has played more Tests than any Indian.
In the first half of his career, Sachin averaged 20 runs more than India's team batting average (Sachin 55, India 35) in all matches, and 18 in matches India won (Sachin 63, India 45). In the second half i.e. 1999 onwards, the corresponding figures are 17 and 22 (Sachin 54 and India 37 in all matches, Sachin 64 and India 42 in matches won).
The most talented batsman India has seen is actually the greatest support act in the history of Test cricket. Sachin Tendulkar's balance, timing and placement have been the toast of the cricket world for almost two decades. Statistically, he is a bigger giant than any in the contemporary game. At his best, no batsman in Test history has combined technical perfection, aesthetic flourish and absolute bloody-minded domination as immaculately as Tendulkar has. His team, however, has mostly had him as the star accompaniment, very rarely the leading act; seldom has his genius come in and stamped its individuality while the game has still been open. Dravid and Sehwag have been bigger match-winners than him in the 2000s. Laxman (2001) and Azharuddin (1993 & 94) have played the definitive match-winning innings under pressure unlike Tendulkar (despite being lesser players than him). Gavaskar's influence has been very significant on Tendulkar - especially the figure-conscious approach to cricketing achievements. In Gavaskar's case, his team gained from it (primarily because he was an opener) but with Tendulkar there have been occasions when it has come in the way (the controversial 194* declaration itself was a throwback to the Test before; there are other examples) - replicating that mentality with an extra dollop of talent across different eras and team ethos did not work out as well as it should have in theory. Tendulkar's superior technical proficiency and hunger for runs would probably have made him a great success as opener. It is a pity, then, that in the 1990s, when India was struggling for an opening pair (when many talented middle-order players either didn't get enough chances or were pushed up as openers to inevitably fail), Tendulkar chose not to take on the challenge of opening (despite enormous success as an ODI opener). Tendulkar is India's best ODI player and a huge match-winner in that format. Often, his overwhelming achievements there can spill over and cloud evaluations of him as a Test player. Still, Tendulkar's contribution has been immense - be it in his substantial support performances in won matches, or in the remarkable level he has maintained for 19 years with scarcely a drop, or in the astonishingly consistent performances in different conditions, especially in Australia - the strongest team of his era. His numbers are the sort even fiction writers would hesitate to conjure up - they suggest that he's a once in-several-generations player, which is fundamentally true.
| The first Test of a much anticipated series. Tendulkar and Warne at the peak of their powers, Kumble, the Waughs. India makes 257, Warne gets 4. Australia makes 328, Kumble gets 4. Sidhu and Dravid stabilise India's 2nd innings. Then Sidhu decides to attack Warne he steps out and hits him over his head repeatedly, till his dismissal to the other spinner - Robertson. His 64 with 10 fours and a six sets up a | fightback that is about to reach new heights when Tendulkar walks out at 115-2. Taking a cue from Sidhu, Tendulkar attacks Warne almost identically, but more spectacularly, with more consistency and power. And sheer, bloody-minded domination. After one such onslaught, captain Taylor asks Warne - mate, what are we going to do next? Warne replies, without looking him in the eye - we're going to lose. The | match and the series is probably lost at that instant, the rest is the world catching on. Tendulkar's unbeaten 155 (off 191 balls, 14 fours, 4 sixes) powers India to 418-4 declared. Australia is set the same target as the famous Tied Test 12 years ago on the same ground. But the psychological impact of Tendulkar's innings is evident when Australia loses 3 wickets for 31 by close of play. The next day is a formality. |
| Yet another memorable Test at the Indian venue that deserves it the most - Chennai. 271 runs to win for India in the fourth innings, time not a factor. Can they begin well, like they'd done in the first innings? No dice. 5-1. 6-2. Tendulkar joins Dravid, with Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram breathing fire. After a few anxious moments and some percentage counter attacking from Tendulkar, stumps is called. India is 40-2, breathing again. Next morning, Tendulkar takes charge but there aren't two of him at the crease. Soon it is 50-3, then 73-4, then 82-5. Wicketkeeper Mongia joins Tendulkar. Saqlain Mushtaq, with 2 quick wickets, is a handful now. Just 46 runs in the | first session. Tendulkar finally cuts Saqlain for four - the first boundary in 111 balls. But still watchful. 60-odd runs in the second session, but no wickets. Third over after tea - four boundaries off Saqlain - all on the leg-side. Next ball, looks for the fifth, misses, stumping missed too. Phew. Akram takes the new ball - Mongia takes runs off him and Waqar now. Tendulkar joins in. 33 runs in 5 overs after the new ball. Saqlain comes back on. Mongia lofts him over mid-wicket for six. It's his 50. Then he throws it away with a loose shot off Akram - caught at mid-off. 218 for 6. Still 53 required. No problem. Now, Joshi hits Saqlain for six. But Tendulkar is clutching his back | now, spasms. He wants to finish it fast - two more fours off Saqlain. And then going for a third, skies it to long off. Akram takes it with glee. 254-7, 17 to go still, but the master is gone. The entire crowd stands up and claps. Tendulkar - 136 off 273 balls; 18 fours. But Tendulkar looks disturbed. The intensity has gone up manifold in Akram and his men. He can clearly feel the shift in momentum. The next three wickets fall for four runs. Pakistan wins by 12 runs. The Chennai crowd stands up and claps again when the Pakistanis do a victory lap. Tendulkar cries in the dressing room. He would probably sacrifice half his international runs for twelve more in this innings. If he could. |
| Set a target of 387 to win, India is expected to defend on the fourth afternoon. But Sehwag's 68-ball 83 changes the match and collective mindsets in two hours. At close, India is 131 for Sehwag's wicket (in just 29 overs), just 256 to get on the last day. Tendulkar comes in early the next day, at 141-2. Steel in his eyes, purpose in his stride. Acutely aware of the whispers about his lack of matchwinning ability. | Gambhir and Laxman gift their wickets after being well-set. 224-4. Out comes the only other batsman whose natural talent can be seen in the same league as Tendulkar's but who has repeatedly underachieved - Yuvraj Singh. Not this time. Slowly and surely, they inch their way ahead - Tendulkar talking to Yuvraj, calming him. Yuvraj settles, gets comfortable. Tendulkar paces himself. This kind of ease has only one | inevitable end. India wins by 6 wickets. Yuvraj (85* off 131 balls) has fulfilled his dream of teaming up with Tendulkar for a win. Tendulkar (103* off 196 balls; 9 fours) has played an elder statesman innings befitting his stature. His hunger for these kinds of results augurs well for Indian cricket in 2009 and beyond. |
| England, after dominating the entire match, declare their 2nd innings at 320-4 setting India 408 to win. A win looks impossible in 90 overs, but can they survive and not lose the series in the second Test itself? Not a chance, seems the answer at 109-4, when that diminutive 17-year-old walks out, playing his 9th Test. The boy who doesn't look like he's begun shaving yet but looked pretty good in the first | innings when he made 68. But then, Azharuddin the captain's gone. 127-5. Kapil Dev walks out, hammers 26 off 35 and promptly gets bowled off Hemmings. If the boy is bewildered at how his seniors are playing, he sure hides it well. Prabhakar walks out at 183-5. Two and a half hours to go for India. Four wickets to go for England. No contest, surely. Malcolm, Fraser, Lewis, Hemmings - all take turns, but | the boy just won't budge. And he's scoring freely. Attractive strokeplay too - the lad can play. And that Prabhakar blighter at the other end is not looking like getting out either. Blast it. Nothing works. It's 343-6. Prabhakar 67 not out. And that boy - 119 not out. (off 189 balls, 17 fours). His first Test century. Oh well, if he never makes another one, at least he's got something to remember. Famous last thoughts. |
| Considered by many to be the greatest Tendulkar innings; technically, it is almost certainly up there. It's not top of this list simply because the series was lost 0-3 anyway, and there was nothing at stake. Nor did this innings do much to change the fortunes of the match. Tendulkar came out to bat at 69-2, after Australia had scored 346. At 100-2, the state of the game seemed in the balance, and then - it all went down the | drain. 6 wickets fell for 59 runs in a combination of good bowling and indifferent batting. When wicket-keeper More joined Tendulkar, it all seemed a question of time. The wicket was bouncy and pacy, and appeared way beyond core Indian competence to stem the flow. And this fresh-faced 19-year-old then began an assault that stunned the Australian crowd and commenced the love affair they would | have with him for the next decade and beyond. Most of his innings was on the back foot, mainly square cuts and suggested a cricketing brain far beyond his years. He was out at 240 for 114 (off 161 balls, with 16 fours). India was dismissed for 272 and it was steadily downhill thereafter. Australia piled up 367-6 and India was knocked out for 141, to lose the match by 300 runs, and the series 0-4. |
HONOURABLE MENTION:
| As per expectation Australia had beaten India in the first Test with the contest expected to hot up as India found their feet in these conditions. The hosts piled up 405 and had India 11-2 when Tendulkar walked in. Soon, it was 31-3 and McGrath, Lee and Fleming were rampant. The 77-run stand that followed with Ganguly (31) was the only real support Tendulkar got right through the innings. Warne, | particularly, was greatly neutralised by Tendulkar - he was just not allowed to settle, reminiscent of their clash in India a year and a half ago. Wickets kept falling at the other end, Tendulkar kept piling up the runs. He took the score to 212 and was the 9th man out (116 off 191 balls, 9 fours, 1 six). A gritty last wicket stand took the score to 238. Australia declared their second innings at 208-5 setting India 376 to win. Or | rather a day and a session to survive. At 40-1 at close, they may have had some hopes, even though Ramesh was injured. But next morning, wickets began to fall again. Tendulkar's responsible 52 (122 balls, 4 fours) was not enough as India was dismissed for 195 losing by 180 runs. A good example of Tendulkar's wasted performances in the 1990s. |
