Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batsman ever, created history on 24 feb 2010 when he made the highest one day international score, in the process also making a double century...
While most teams struggle to make 200 odd runs in 50 overs, Sachin Tendulkar showed that he could do it alone, and indeed in a dramatic fashion posted a personal score of 200* not out, helping India to go past the 400 run mark, and consequently win the second ODI against South Africa on Wednesday. In spite of being in the team for almost 20 years, with this innings Sachin has showed that the desire to be the best and play for the country has not diminished one bit. Read more on Sachin Tendulkar, the Master Blaster.
The first double century in ODIs comes after almost 40 years of ODIs being played, including the 60 overs a side matches that were played in the earlier days. These 60 over matches were naturally a batsman's delight as it provided more opportunities to score runs. In spite of that, no one, not one batsman could reach the elusive and highly coveted double century. The closest to come to the 200 run mark was Charles Coventry, from Zimbabwe, who scored 194 not out, eclipsing the record of Saeed Anwar, who had also scored 194, but 'Was Out'. Saeed Anwar's record of 194 stood for 12 long years, and while many great batsman came close to breaking it, no one ever managed it. In fact, the Little Master himself came close once, but ended up being 186 not out. It took a Zimbabwean to break the highest ODI score record, and that came in a match against minnows Bangladesh. Sachin, on the other hand, took the best bowling attack in the world apart, and scored at a phenomenal strike rate of well over hundred. His double ton came in only 147 balls, ensuring that his strike rate was also the 'Best of the Three'.
Records have come naturally to Tendulkar and now only Lara's 400 in test eludes him. But with the way he has been batting of late, this record might also end up being his. And while people may argue that he has not much time left, statistics show that Tendulkar is batting better than ever. A few headlines were even screaming 'Second Coming of Tendulkar', and his innings of 200, with 25 boundaries and 3 sixes, is a testament to this. With 4 tons in the last 4 tests, and his highest 3 ODI scores coming in the last 12 months, Sachin has moved to a higher gear, and this just when the cricketing world thought he was in top gear already.
Tendulkar's 200 not out is undoubtedly the highlight of his career, and what a career he has. Or is having. He is the highest run scorer in both test and ODIs, and has the highest centuries in both tests and ODIs, has scored more than 30000 runs in international cricket, and Sachin's career is far from over.
With impeccable and stupendous batting, his effort in the field too cannot go unnoticed. The famous dive to save a boundary in the first ODI shows Tendulkar's commitment to the game, a game he has been in for 20 years, a game that his records have written and sculpted, a game where his name is compared to God, a game that more than a billion of his countrymen watch, a game where every Indian prays for Tendulkar to score, and score big, a game called CRICKET. And Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, even at 37 years of age, will simply not let them down.
Sachin Tendulkar. A salute to the best batsman in the game. Period.