That, however, was not strictly true. In fact, some of Tendulkar's most memorable centuries have come in losing causes. And in the first Test against South Africa, he once again scored a century in a losing cause.
Most of Tendulkar's centuries have been scored in the team's first innings and only 12 of his 46 Test hundreds have come in the second innings. Of these 12, India have won 3 matches, lost 4 and drawn 5.
Tendulkar's 2nd Innings 100s in Indian wins
| Score | Match Innings | Opposition | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104* | 3 | Sri Lanka | Colombo (SSC) | 27-Jul-93 |
| 155* | 3 | Australia | Chennai | 06-Mar-98 |
| 103* | 4 | England | Chennai | 11-Dec-08 |
Tendulkar's 2nd Innings 100s in Indian defeats
| Score | Match Innings | Opposition | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 122 | 3 | England | Birmingham | 06-Jun-96 |
| 113 | 3 | New Zealand | Wellington | 26-Dec-98 |
| 136 | 4 | Pakistan | Chennai | 28-Jan-99 |
| 100 | 3 | South Africa | Nagpur | 06-Feb-10 |
Tendulkar's 2nd Innings 100s in drawn matches
| Score | Match Innings | Opposition | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 119* | 4 | England | Manchester | 09-Aug-90 |
| 124* | 3 | Sri Lanka | Colombo (SSC) | 24-Feb-99 |
| 126* | 3 | New Zealand | Mohali | 10-Oct-99 |
| 176 | 3 | West Indies | Kolkata | 30-Oct-02 |
| 100* | 3 | Sri Lanka | Ahmedabad | 16-Nov-09 |
It is interesting to note that in the tables above, whenever Tendulkar has gotten out, it has almost uniformly led to an Indian defeat. The only time he got out and India did not lose was when he made 176 against the West Indies, which incidentally is his highest score in this list.
It is reasonable to conclude then, that if Sachin Tendulkar stays for any great length of time at the crease in the team's second innings, the odds of defeat reduce drastically. And if he remains unbeaten, India almost always escape defeat.