Reliving Sachin Tendulkar's ODI centuries (36-40)

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar needs no introduction in India and his ability to create and break records helped him achieve a cult status in the country. With 49 ODI centuries, he had ensured that his ODI figures will go untouched for a while, till of course the genius Virat Kohli came along.

Unlike Tendulkar’s first ten years as a professional cricketer, where the hundreds were churned out at will, the last few years of his career, saw fewer runs and consequently, the centuries dried up for him. He scored his century numbers 36 to 40 in over two years, which is in stark contrast to the nineteen hundreds he had scored from 1998 to 2001.

In a continuation of our exclusive series, we take a detailed look at his ODI hundreds thirty-six to forty.

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#5 ODI century number 36 – 102 against New Zealand, Hyderabad (2003)

In the 9th match of the TVS Cup between India and New Zealand – a series that also featured Australia – the hosts elected to bat first after winning the toss.

India got off to a flying start, with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar putting on 182 for the first wicket in just 30 overs. While he Delhiite scored 130 in 134 deliveries, Tendulkar was the more aggressive player, going with a strike-rate of over 112. He made 102 in 91 deliveries, with 12 boundaries and a six, which helped India reach a mammoth score of 353 in their 50 overs.

In reply, New Zealand was wrapped up for 208, with only Scott Styris managing a fifty.

#4 ODI century number 37 – 141 against Pakistan, Rawalpindi (2004)

Tendulkar’s love-affair with Pakistan continued when India toured their neighbouring country in 2004. In the second game of the ODI series, Pakistan managed a challenging total of 329 in their quota of overs. It was almost assumed that India had been batted out of the game, and with the early dismissal of Sehwag, an easy win for Pakistan seemed inevitable.

But Tendulkar bravely held one end up to smash a fighting hundred under pressure. He had a 69-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, in which the captain scored only 15. With Rahul Dravid, he combined to take the score to 245, with the Karnataka batsman only contributing 36 in the 105-run partnership.

However, Tendulkar’s knock of 141 in 135 balls was hardly enough as the rest of the batting line-up could not build on to the foundation, and India eventually folded up for 317, handing Pakistan a 12-run victory.

#3 ODI century number 38 – 123 against Pakistan, Ahmedabad (2005)

Thirteen months after his last century, Tendulkar smashed his thirty-eighth hundred against Pakistan once again in the 4th ODI of the bilateral series in Ahmedabad.

Batting first, India lost Sehwag in the eleventh over of the innings, once again leaving the responsibility on Tendulkar to guide India to a challenging target. Along with youngster MS Dhoni, he put on 129 for the second wicket, with the keeper contributing just 47 of the 129 runs.

Tendulkar paced his innings beautifully to negate the threat of the likes of Mohammad Sami and Abdul Razzaq and ended with 123 in 130 deliveries. He fell with the Indian score at 248. India made 315 for 6 in the first innings, which was chased down by the rivals in 48 overs.

#2 ODI century number 39 – 100 against Pakistan, Peshawar (2006)

Tendulkar had to wait almost 10 months for his next ODI ton, which too came against Pakistan at Peshawar, in the first ODI. Sehwag was dismissed for just 5 and it was time for Tendulkar to combine with Irfan Pathan to take the team score to 99.

As Dhoni was slowly getting into his groove at the other end, Tendulkar was setting up the stage with a well-timed 100 in 113 deliveries. He had a 126-run partnership with Dhoni for the third wicket and a 65-run one for the fourth with Yuvraj Singh. Aided by Tendulkar’s knock and some vital contributions, India made 328.

However, the D/L method set Pakistan a target of 305, which was easily chased down by the hosts as India again lost a game where Tendulkar touched the three-figure mark.

#5 ODI century number 40 – 141 against West Indies, Kuala Lumpur (2006)

In the second game of the DLF Cup against West Indies, India won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening the innings with Dravid, Tendulkar adorned the role of the aggressor first up, scoring the bulk of the runs in the 75-run partnership for the first wicket.

Once Dravid was sent back by Dwayne Smith, Pathan walked out at three and the duo stitched together a partnership of 125 runs. While the all-rounder was dismissed for 64, Tendulkar carried on to make a well-made 141 in 148 deliveries, with 13 boundaries and five sixes! He was particularly harsh on Dwayne Bravo and Fidel Edwards.

India made 309 in their stipulated overs and the West Indies had raced away to 141 in 20 overs before the rain came pouring down. The West Indies needed to be at 113 in 20 overs according to the D/L method, and the game was handed over to them.