Sachin's 43rd birthday: A flashback of Master Blaster's best knocks will give you goosebumps

Love and passion for the gentleman’s game might have been inculcated in the hearts of Indian youngsters ever since ‘Kapil’s Devils’ upstaged the mighty West Indies in 1983 World Cup final, but one man whose sole heroics on 22 yards made this country laugh, cry, and rejoice for 24 long years is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Such is the aura of Sachin, that a certain Virat Kohli, who is arguably one of the best batsmen in the world right now, bows down to the Little Master in front of a capacity Eden Gardens crowd or for that matter, one of the most elegant left-handers of the country, Yuvraj Singh, touches this person’s feet after scoring a hundred in an exhibition match at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.

As the perennial saviour of Indian Cricket turns another year of his life, we look back at some of his heavenly knocks which would take us back to those good ol’ days:

119* vs England at Old Trafford, 1990

Those were the days when Sachin was working his way up to stardom. There was a great buzz about his talent but the Mumbaikar hadn’t done anything gigantic in international cricket till then, which would back his potential. However, like a true champion he announced himself on the big stage by scoring his first international hundred at the Old Trafford in the second Test of the three-match series.

English players applaud Sachin's Herculean effort (Source:Telegraph.co.uk)

The unbeaten ton came under pressure cooker circumstances as batting at No. 6 in the second innings and that too with tail-enders, Sachin had to save the Test and keep India afloat in the series as they had already lost the first Test. He was successful in doing that, however India could manage only a draw in the last match in whites and conceded the series 1-0.

114 vs Australia at Perth, 1992

This Australia tour was a disaster for India as they lost four out of five Tests and also ended up second best in the tri-angular ODI series involving Australia and West Indies apart from themselves.

Sachin acknowledges the applause of the crowd after reaching his century (Source: cricinfo.com)

Sachin scored two hundreds in the series, one in the third Test at Sydney and another in the fifth Test at Perth. Although the last Test was a one-sided affair, Sachin’s fighting century which came off 161 balls, was widely acclaimed as the WACA pitch, which is famous for its vicious bounce, was massively assisting the fiery pace battery of Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes and Mike Whitney.

155* vs Australia at Chennai, 1998

The 1998 Test series was pitted as the battle between Sachin and Warne as both the geniuses were at the top of their games at that point of time. This was Warne’s first Test tour to India and the leg-spinner was expected to do an encore of his magic on the spin-friendly wickets of India. However, what happened next is history as the leggie had to admit that bowling against the master Blaster was kind of a nightmare for him.

Sachin guides one to the leg side (Source:Cricinfo.com)

Incidentally, in the first innings of the first Test at Chennai, Warne had got Sachin caught at slips but in the second essay the right-hander ensured that each and every ploy of the tweaker was foiled as he stayed unbeaten till the end and helped the hosts set a huge target for the Aussies. The visitors lost both the first and second encounters and ultimately won the inconsequential third Test.

134 vs Australia at Sharjah, 1998

Sachin had thoroughly stamped his authority on the tri-nation ODI series featuring India, Australia and New Zealand. His 143-run knock in the sixth tie of series which helped India set up a title clash with Australia, was christened as ‘Desert storm’ and the match-winning 134 off 131 balls in the final showcased how an extremely talented batsman can single-handedly decimate the all-conquering Aussies.

Sachin is determination personified during the final in Sharjah (Source: Youtube Grab)

Chasing 273 in the summit clash, Sachin looked a class apart as 18 years ago, on this very day; he gave himself the most memorable birthday gift by toying around with the Australian bowling line-up. The scenes of the whole Indian team mounting on the car which the Little Master had received as Man of the Series award are still fresh in the memories of Indian fans.

136 vs Pakistan at Chennai, 1999

This was one of the most exciting Test series ever played between the two arch-rivals. The two match series ended in a 1-1 stalemate leaving the fans thirsty for more action.

Even though the hosts fell agonisingly short by 12 runs, Sachin’s marathon effort in the fourth innings of the first match in Chennai is still cherished and held in high esteem by the Indians.

An Youtube Grab of the lion-hearted innings

Chasing 271 for victory, barring Nayan Mongia, none of Indians could give a semblance of support to the Little Master who was fighting with back spasms. He grimaced in pain and tried to grit out a win which looked impossible when India were 82-5, but in the end succumbed to a Saqlain Mushtaq delivery. However, these are the kind of games which earned him the tag, ‘God of cricket’.

98 vs Pakistan at Centurion, 2003

This was a World Cup match where the best Indian batting line-up, comprising the likes of Sachin, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid was facing the best Pakistani bowling contingent which involved Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar. It was a matter of prestige and India needed to win this tie to keep their Super-six qualification chances alive.

Sachin hammers Shoaib Akhtar's short delivery over backward point (Source: Getty Images)

Saeed Anwar’s century had propelled Pakistan to 273. An aggressive chase was the need of the hour and Sachin provided more than what the fans had asked for. That day, everything which touched Sachin’s bat raced to the fence and his six over backward point off Akhtar’s bowling still remains as one of the most cherished sights in ODI cricket. He eventually cramped up and was dismissed just two short of what would have been a brilliant ton, but the impetus which the 75-ball knock had given, helped the middle order batsmen to calmly knock over the remaining runs.

241* vs Australia at Sydney, 2004

This was kind of a landmark series for Sourav Ganguly’s men as they successfully defended the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Down Under, by tying the four-match series at 1-1. Sachin endured a bad patch and couldn’t score big in the first three Tests but then in the last match, he adopted a unique technique of milking runs without taking too many risks. Ultimately he scored a massive double ton in the first innings and helped his team register a mammoth score 705.

Sachin is pumped after reaching a well made double century (Source: Getty Images)

The master was having some problems with the out-swingers as on most occasions he was getting caught in the slips while trying to drive. So here came the change. He decided to shut out all strokes on the off side. The deliveries which were on or outside the off stump, were either left by him or driven down the ground or worked away on the leg side. India drew the Test but this innovation was possible just because of Sachin’s grit and determination.

117* vs Australia at Sydney, 2008

Sachin’s love affair with Australia continued as he busted the myth that he doesn’t perform in summit clashes by anchoring an Indian chase in the first final of CB series.

The veteran batsman had the dual role of playing a match-winning knock and also guiding the likes of Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, and Rohit Sharma. He played a chanceless knock and together with Rohit, helped the visitors cross the 240 run target with utter disdain.

The Master Blaster guides one on the off side during his match-winning knock (Source: Getty Images)

Sachin also scored 91 in the second final as India wrapped up the three-nation series by beating the hosts in first two finals of the three-legged title clash.

175 vs Australia at Hyderabad, 2009

Sachin almost did a Houdini’s act in the fifth ODI of the seven-match bilateral series. India were after a 351-run target, which was made to look like a 270 chase thanks to some spellbinding batting by the master.

Sachin thanks the heavens after reaching the three figure mark (Source: Getty Images)

Apart from Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina, none of the other batsmen could make their mark as Sachin set off on a lone battle. Just when it looked that India would romp home, Sachin tried a cheeky scoop over short fine leg’s head but only managed to offer a simple catch to Nathan Hauritz. The tail-enders couldn’t finish off the game as India fell short by three runs. Nevertheless, it was an innings of a lifetime.

200* vs South Africa at Gwalior, 2010

This was something which was never achieved but given his knack of scoring big fat ODI hundreds, it was a feat which Sachin had in his sights for a long time. So when a batting friendly wicket of Captain Roop Singh Stadium greeted the maverick batsman, he went with the flow and didn’t reserve an iota of mercy for the Proteas.

Sachin celebrates his hundred at Gwalior (Source: Getty Images)

The Indian fans experienced a heart-stopping situation when their favourite son, batting on 199 was stranded at the non-striker’s end for a long time but then Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave back the strike in the second ball of the last over and Sachin completed his double century with a push to the point fielder. India scored 401 and thumped South Africa by 153 runs, thereby winning the second ODI and wrapping up the series.

120 vs England at Bangalore, 2011

Just like the 2003 World Cup, Sachin was in ominous form in the 2011 edition of the gala event. He was ready to give his every bit of energy to bring home the trophy after 28 years. A mix-up with Sehwag in the first game against Bangladesh resulted in his run out, so he was due for a big one and unfortunately for England, it was their bowlers who had to bear the brunt.

Sachin launches one into the stands during India's World Cup tie against England (Source: Getty Images)

Going about his business in his own classical yet aggressive way, Sachin brought up his century with consummate ease. It never looked like he had to grind his way in the middle as the veteran batsmen peppered the opposition with 10 fours and five sixes.

India managed to put up 338 on the board but an equally brilliant century from England captain Andrew Strauss brought the match on even keel and it ended in a tie, much to the satisfaction of both the sides.