After scoring my first hundred, didn't know there were 99 more to follow: Tendulkar

New Delhi [India], Aug 14 (ANI): Celebrating the 30th anniversary of his first international hundred, former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said he never knew that he will score 99 more hundred in his career after scoring his maiden ton.
Taking to Twitter he shared a video and wrote, "Scoring my 1st ever 100 was very special as we managed to save the Test and keep the series alive, and it all happened on the eve of our Independence Day. It's been my privilege to play for India and I thank each one of you for your love and support over the years."

At the age of 17 years and 112 days, he became the third-youngest batsman to score a Test ton. Tendulkar took eight Test matches to bring up his first 100-run plus score in international cricket, managing 119 not out off 189 balls in the final innings, helping India draw the game. The knock also earned Tendulkar his first Player of the Match award.
"In the first innings, I had scored 68 runs and I was the last batsman to get out. But in the second innings, I walked out to bat at number six. We had lost few wickets and we had to still play out number of overs. So, I dug in and played out those overs and there were opportunities to attack, I also attack. Not to forget that was my first Man of the Match," Tendulkar said in a video.
England won the toss in the second game of the three-match series and opted to bat first. Batting first, the hosts posted a total of 519 in their first innings as skipper Graham Gooch (116), Mike Atherton (131) and Robin Smith (121*) scored centuries.
In reply, India were bundled out for 432 despite captain Mohammad Azharuddin's 179-run knock. Sanjay Manjrekar accumulated 93 runs while Sachin Tendulkar scored 68 runs. Leading by 87-run, England declared their second innings at 320/4d and set a target of 408 against India to win the game.
Mike Atherton played a knock 74-run while Allan Lamb smashed a century (109). Robin Smith and Jack Russell remained unbeaten on 61* and 16* respectively.
Chasing 408, India had a bad start as they lost their openers Navjot Sidhu (0) and Ravi Shastri (12) cheaply. Sanjay Manjrekar and Dilip Vengsarkar guided the side and stitched a 74-run partnership for the third wicket.
At the score of 109, Manjrekar (50) and Vengsarkar (32) departed at quick succession.
Sachin Tendulkar came in to bat at number 6, he along with skipper Mohammad Azharuddin kept the scoreboard moving and build a brief partnership of 18-run for the fifth wicket.
The skipper was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 11 runs. Kapil Dev joined Tendulkar in the middle and stitched a 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Dev departed after scoring 26 runs.
Tendulkar and Manoj Prabhakar played cautiously and remained unbeaten on 119* and 26*, at the end of the fifth day, and successfully drawn the match. The duo accumulated 160-run unbeaten stand, meanwhile, Tendulkar also achieved the feat of scoring his first century across formats.
Tendulkar also explained the difference between his first hundred and his 100th century.
"In one of these meet and greet, I was asked 'What was the difference between your first hundred and 100th hundred'? I said after I scored my first hundred I did not know that there were 99 to follow. When I stuck on 99 hundred number of people advice me what to do and what not to do failing to realise there were 99 behind. This was the difference between the first and 100th hundred," he said.
The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records. Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match. The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.
Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons. Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad. (ANI)

Raj Kantak

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