3 decades on, Sachin recalls first ton
New Delhi, Aug. 13: Test-saving hundreds have become extinct now but Sachin Tendulkar carved out one such innings exactly 30 years ago, the seeds of which were sown during one afternoon in Sialkot, eight months prior to that gloomy Manchester day.
It was on August 14, 1990, that Tendulkar scored the first of his 100 international centuries, a majestic 119 not out on a fifth day track to save the game for India.
Asked about that special first, he said it seemed like yesterday.
“I scored that 100 on August 14 and next day was our Independence Day, so it was special. The headline was different and that hundred at least kept the series alive till next Test at the Oval,” Tendulkar said on the eve of the 30th anniversary of his first ton.
So what exactly was the feeling, apart from the pure joy of achieving the milestone? “The art of saving a Test match was a new experience for me,” Tendulkar said but added he knew he could save a game when he batted with a “bloodied nose” and a blood-soaked jersey after being hit by Waqar Younis.
“In Sialkot where I got hit and scored 57, we saved that Test match, too, from 38 for 4. Waqar’s bouncer and playing through pain defined me. After those kind of hits you are either stronger or you are nowhere to be seen,” he said.
As scary as it may seem now, Tendulkar, in the first innings of that
Manchester match, was hit on the back of the head by one of the fastest pacers in the world back then, Devon Malcolm.
“Devon and Waqar, during that phase, were easily the two quickest bowlers in the world bowling at 90 mph.
“Yes, I didn’t call the phsyio as I didn’t want to show them that I am in pain. My pain threshold was fairly high. It’s okay to get hit. So what. You don’t show your pain to the bowler,” the legend said.
Coach Ramakant Achrekar prepared him for all sorts of pain by making him play on the same pitch for 25 days straight at the Shivaji
Park Gymkhana. “I was used to getting hit on my body from my days in Shivaji Park as Achrekar sir would make us play on that and it would have enormous wear and tear,” Tendulkar said.
“The same pitch we played a match on one day and next day we were back for nets. So balls would just jump off length and hit my nose.
“In fact, I would just throw the ball up and take it on my body to absorb the pain,” the 47-year-old added.
Back to the match, the shots that he remembers are the exquisite backfoot cover drives off Chris Lewis deliveries that darted in. —
I scored that 100 (vs England) on August 14 and next day was our Independence Day, so it was special. The headline was different and that hundred at least kept the series alive till next Test at The Oval.
SACHIN TENDULKAR on his Test saving century in Manchester