Tendulkar turns 45: 100 centuries, 200 Tests and more

Over a career spanning 24 years, 200 Test matches, 100 centuries, Sachin Tendulkar went from a being a 16-year-old debutant on the international pitch to the God of cricket.

While he came on the pitch with a reputation of having once hit 326 not out as a schoolboy, little did the world know what was in store from the little master.

After giving us some of the best cricket moments of our lives, Tendulkar announced his retirement from all forms of the game in 2012.


On his 45th birthday, here's looking at some of his top cricketing moments:

November 1989: The Test debut against Pakistan
After being picked to play in Bombay's Ranji Trophy squad at the age of 14, Tendulkar batted his way to his maiden century - becoming the youngest Indian batsman to score 100 runs on his debut in first-class cricket. His smashing record brought him in the limelight, hence leading to his recruitment in the Indian team in 1989.

On November 15 that year, a 16-year-old Tendulkar made his Test debut in Karachi, again becoming the youngest Indian to do so. He scored 15 runs off 24 balls before he was cleaned bowled by Pakistan's 17-year-old Waqar Younis, also a debutant in the match.

But cricket as we then knew it, was about to change. He went on to hit his maiden fifty, scoring 59 runs off 172 balls in the first innings of the second Test. And came close to another half-century (41 runs) in the next match.

August 1990: Maiden Test century at Old Trafford
This was just the beginning of creating and breaking numerous records. Tendulkar went on to score his maiden Test century, a match-saving one, the next year against England at Old Trafford.

The master blaster had a penchant for Test cricket, and had 16 Test 100s before he turned 25. By 2000 he had become the first batsman to have scored 50 international centuries.



October 1996: Captaincy
Tendulkar succeeded Mohammed Azharuddin to become captain. His captaincy took off to a great start with India winning three of the first four Tests in which he was captain, one against Australia and two against South Africa.

However, as Tendulkar often went on to say after that, captaincy was not for him. His following 14 Tests in charge didn't have the same sparkle. With the team drawing 10, losing three and winning only one.

His later stood down in favour of Azharuddin but resumed the captaincy in October 1999 for eight Tests after Azharuddin was sacked over match-fixing. His second stint as captain saw the team win one match, draw two and lose five, before he gave up the post for good.

2012-2013: The final milestones
Tendulkar announced his retirement in December 2012. The legend walked away the pitch after playing his final, 200thmatch against West Indies on home ground at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium in November 2013.

Before leaving, Tendulkar had given one final gift to India, becoming the first batsman to score his 100th 100 in 2012. The cricketer scored a 114 off 147 balls in the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh in Mirpur on March 16, 2012.