On this Day - Finest Batsman of the Cricket had Arrived | Sachin Tendulkar's First Ever Hundred

An exceptional student went on to fill 100 pages in a record note, out of which the maiden and the special one got printed today, 32 years back with the golden ink.

Sachin Tendulkar was the man who gave wings to the dreams of many for more than two decades. His 100 hundreds benchmark is hard to achieve yet for anyone, even under batsman-friendly pitches and playing conditions. August 14 1990, was the day when he laid the foundation stone for his glorious empire.

The quantity of an innings is described by the scoreboard but the quality is explained by the situation and the opposition. Sachin's maiden century came against super-powered England when that 17-year-old little lad stood all day, to save the game for his country, IN A FOREIGN SOIL. It was just 7 matches he had played before this notable innings and it was just 9 months rolled on after his debut test.

Sachin's debut was not the one he had dreamt of. "I went out to bat in the first game and I was clueless, I had no idea and I was getting beaten by the pace. I had never experienced someone bowl at 90 - 95 mph. And I said, Oh! this is the wrong place, I won't fit here. Then, I got out and went to the bathroom and cried". This is how Sachin Tendulkar exactly portrayed his debut match against mighty Pakistan.

And from there, if you fast forward, a few months later on August 14 1990, he proved to everyone that he is not going to set baby steps anymore and it will be a giant leap all the time. That is how the tale of 100 hundreds was kick-started.

 In the 1990 India tour of England, India won the ODI series by 2/0. But Sachin's contribution was not that great with an average of 25. India's domination too did not continue further. They did not inaugurate the long format well. India lost the first test, in Lord, by 247 runs. So, at least in the second test, they wanted to beat the pain and struggle hard to wipe out that worst start. Hopes were pinned on the Manchester test.

England cannot be easy prey and continued its monster form to go on to score 519 in the first innings itself. India could not give back completely and managed to cross the 400 mark, `Thanks' to the tremendous 179 from the Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar's 93 but the show stealer was the young man, Sachin, who was batting till the last to hit a half-century. Even after that, 87 runs had given an additional advantage to England. From there, they went on to set a terrific target of 408 runs.

In the second innings, the Top 5 Indian batsmen were parcelled for a total of 105 runs. The situation was very critical and India was slipping into the valley of 2/0 and needed someone to lift it. Then came the guardian angel, who was in need to raise his sword in the battle to bat for hours together against the mighty pace bowlers of England. The situation demanded it and it was his ultimate testing time too.

Unlike earlier, the balls moving faster toward him did not panic him anymore. The raw pace, its swing and seam movement did not trouble him at all. The lethal short balls, attacking Yorkers, and balls that deviated to outside the off stump were treated well. For the balls bowled, the bat danced in rhythm to give back as the punches, cuts and drives. The 17-year-old had already shown glimpses of an alpha male of the game through his classical innings and his grit and determination were unmatchable

What were you doing when you were 17?

On this day in 1990, a little 17 year old boy scored his 1st test ton, a brilliant 119* to save the match for India- the little master Sachin Tendulkar

The backfoot shots are unbelievable, for anyone at ANY age

pic.twitter.com/CQcyMih2LW

— Rob Moody (@robelinda2) August 14, 2022

His partnerships with Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar built the hopes of Indians and the beautiful moment to hit the historical century happened. He had scored four half-centuries in earlier months but the three-digit was pending for a big occasion and that was His moment. The applause and standing ovations already proved how much he deserved it.

The 119 runs, 7 times his age, could only draw the game but he already declared that he is going to carry the glory of Indian cricket for years together. From there, he went on to hit Centuries and tons of hundreds but the roller coaster ride was initiated and ignited there.

August 14, 1948, was the day on which the era of world cricket, Don Bradman came to an end. He played his last test. That day was marked as the beginning of the era too. It was the day when Sachin proved to the world and himself that once a small spark is a wildfire now and it is going to spread its halo all across the globe.