Sachin Tendulkar, often called the god of cricket, set numerous significant records throughout his career. However, the story of his first century in the One Day International format is no less interesting. The player, who later amassed 49 centuries in ODIs, had to wait about five years and 78 matches before reaching his first hundred.
This day was September 9, 1994. On this day, 32 years ago, India and Australia faced each other in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as part of the Singer World Series. In this match, Sachin scored 110 runs off 130 balls against Australia.
His innings included 8 fours and 2 sixes. This marked his first ODI century. Sachin started his match partnering with Manoj Prabhakar, and later formed a partnership with Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mohammed Azharuddin. Thanks to Sachin's brilliant performance and quick 43 runs from Vinod Kambli, India scored 246 runs, defeating Australia by 8 wickets. The Australian team lost the match by 31 runs, despite Mark Waugh scoring 61 runs.
Before his first ODI century, Sachin had scored 2126 runs in 78 matches, with an average of 32.70 and 17 half-centuries. After achieving his first century, Sachin scored 16,300 runs and added another 48 centuries. His average also increased to 47.10. This is why the 110-run innings against Australia in Colombo is considered a turning point in his career.
Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut on November 15, 1989, in Karachi against Pakistan at the age of 16 years and 205 days. In his first Test match, Sachin scored 15 runs off 24 balls, making two half-centuries in that tour. His first Test century was achieved in 1990 in the ninth match against England at Old Trafford in Manchester, where he played an innings of 119 runs off 189 balls.
Throughout his impressive 24-year career, Sachin Tendulkar played 664 matches, accumulating 34,357 international runs.
Test Cricket:
Matches: 200
Innings: 329
Runs: 15,921
Average: 53.78
Centuries: 51
Half-centuries: 68
Highest Score: 248*
ODI Cricket:
Matches: 463
Innings: 452
Runs: 18,426
Average: 44.83
Centuries: 49
Half-centuries: 96
Highest Score: 200*
T20I:
Matches: 1
Runs: 10
Average: 10.00
Highest Score: 10