5 worst defeats for Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs

"You get him out and half the battle is won", World Cup winner Arjuna Ranatunga had once famously said about Sachin Tendulkar. Such was the impact of his wicket in the one-day format of the game.

An ODI career that stretched across 3 decades, Tendulkar has seen it all, from single-handedly demolishing the opposition to winning the World Cup to falling short of a hundred to falling short of a half-century of hundreds in the ODI format.

Tendulkar has a flabbergasting 18,426 runs to his name in the ODI version of cricket with 49 centuries but the demi-god of cricket has had to deal with several dejections in his ODI career, sometimes in spite of him performing well and sometimes because of a collective failure.

Now let us chronologically look at 5 instances of defeat which can be termed worst in Tendulkar's massive career:

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#5 India vs Sri Lanka, Kolkata, Semi-final 1996 World Cup

The stage was perfectly set for a plausible triumph in a World Cup in the home soil and this was the second time that the then-22-year-old Tendulkar was playing a World Cup.

Sri Lanka batted first and scampered to 251. Chasing a modest total of 252 in front of a packed Eden Gardens crowd, to sail into the Finals would be an Indian cricketer's dream and Tendulkar was living that dream.

He was batting elegantly and made 65 with 9 fours before he attempted to take a single off a leg-bye without knowing the position of the ball on the field and Romesh Kaluwitharana cleverly dislodged the bails.

From then, the Indians lost the plot and from 98/1 they fell to 120/8 in no time and in addition to this, the crowd's misbehavior led to the match being awarded to Sri Lanka.

This is one of Tendulkar's worst defeats in his career as the chance to win the World Cup at home was done and dusted.

#4 Sri Lanka vs India, Sharjah, Coca-Cola Cup 2000 Final

India was wrapped up for 54, their lowest till date

By now, Tendulkar had had two lacklustre spells as skipper and now, Sourav Ganguly was at the helm of captaincy. It was the Final of the tri-series and Sri Lanka batted first after winning the toss.

The Sri Lankans posted a healthy total of 299. Chasing 300 to win, India encountered the unimaginable. Chaminda Vaas simply ran riot and scalped 5 wickets as the Indians were bundled out for a shambolic 54.

Till today, it is India's lowest ever score in an ODI and the Master Blaster himself would be embarrassed by this game.

#3 Australia vs India, Johannesburg, 2003 World Cup Final

Glenn McGrath won the battle in the final as he dismissed Tendulkar

Tendulkar was now 29 and was already considered as of the game's best. It was his fourth World Cup and boy, wasn't he hungry to get hands on it.Only Australia stood in between the World Cup and a billion people's dreams. Ganguly made an erroneous decision to bowl first and the Aussies thrashed the Indian bowlers to pile up a humongous 359 on board.

Chasing 360 in a final was a daunting task and the nation's hopes rested on the leading run-scorer - Tendulkar. He pulled Glenn McGrath for a four before he fell attempting a similar shot.

Despite being the one responsible to carry India on his shoulders throughout the tournament, he faltered in the Final and India fell short by 125 making that game one of the most bitter pills to swallow.

#2 India vs Bangladesh, Port of Spain, 2007 World Cup group stage

The most disappointing World Cup campaign for Sachin

Well begun is half done they said; the worst beginning is underdone they never said. At least, that is apt for the Indian team's outing in the 2007 World Cup.

The opener against Bangladesh was presumed to be a cakewalk for the runners-up of the 2003 World Cup. But then, the unthinkable happened. They lost wickets at regular intervals and Tendulkar made just 7 off 26 deliveries.

Eventually, India was bundled out for a scant 191. The Bangladesh team ensured that they suffered no hiccups and finished the match with 5 wickets in hand.

With 2011 World Cup being very distant, the possibility of Tendulkar going World-Cup-less loomed largely and it was one of the worst defeats in Tendulkar's career.

#1 India vs Australia, Hyderabad, 5th ODI of bilateral series

The Indian tail failed to secure victory regardless of Tendulkar's heroics

The 7-match series was locked at 2-2 and India were keen to take the lead in the series. Aussies won the toss and batted first and courtesy Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh's cameos, they registered 350 on the scorecard.

Chasing 351 under lights was a formidable task and Tendulkar played one of the best knocks in his ODI career. He amassed 175 in just 141 deliveries to help India reach 332 at the end of 47 overs.

He attempted the cheeky scoop and perished dejectedly. The team was just 19 away from a dazzling victory from the 17 remaining balls. However, the team fell short by 3 runs as the Aussies scalped all the 10 wickets.

A marvelous ton went in vain and it is one of the worst defeats for the Little Master to accept in his long and extremely successful career.