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Among Sachin Tendulkar’s many records, one that stands out is the double-century. Tendulkar on this day became the first man to score a double-century in ODI. Few had come close to reaching the historic figure earlier but it was the ‘Little Master‘ from India who etched his name in history by becoming the first player to score a double-century in ODIs. In the below article, we will take a look at how Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double-century in ODI cricket against South Africa.
Sachin Tendulkar creates history
As it is with other records, it is only fair that Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to score a double-century in ODIs. MS Dhoni had won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior, a stadium which is known for its batting-friendly conditions. South Africa struck early in the innings and dismissed the dangerous opener, Virender Sehwag. Little did they know it was Sehwag’s opening partner who was going to be causing all the problems for them.
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Dale Steyn started well for the South Africans and bowled four dots at Tendulkar at the end of the first over. The Indian opener opened his account in the following over with a four off Wayne Parnell’s bowling. Parnell had gifted Tendulkar two half-volleys on either side of the stumps which were deservedly smashed for fours. Steyn too faced the wrath of Tendulkar as the Indian opener started getting in his groove.
Century completed, 100 runs to go
Tendulkar reached his 93rd international century with a single in the 28th over but he looked in no mood to stop there. It was a typical Tendulkar innings as the ‘God of Cricket’ had smashed 15 fours before smashing his first six. His first six came in the 32nd over off JP Duminy’s bowling.
Amidst all this, the match was not without any controversy or disturbance. Before the final ball of the 37th over, substitute fielder, Albie Morkel complained about being hit by something from the crowd. The match was interrupted and police had to patrol the area where the South African was fielding.
The interruption had no effect on Tendulkar as he smashed the very next delivery for a four. After reaching his 150, Tendulkar had the 200 in his sights and he was showing no signs of tiredness and cramps which had stood between him and a double-century earlier in his career. In the 43rd over, he equalled his previous highest score of 186*. The hunger for the milestone had started to creep in and the cramps were back. His last 14 runs came off 13 balls but without any boundaries, while on the other end his partner, Dhoni was only dealing in boundaries.
Tendulkar reached the milestone in the final over of the innings off Charl Langeveldt.
Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni share useful stands
While the game is rightfully remembered for Tendulkar’s historic double-ton, players like Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni also played useful roles in ensuring a mammoth total.
After the early dismissal of Sehwag, Karthik joined Tendulkar at the crease. The right-handed batter shared a 194-run stand with Tendulkar while scoring a half-century. Karthik was dismissed by Parnell after scoring 79 runs in 85 balls hitting four fours and three sixes.
Pathan on the other hand played a short cameo scoring 36 runs in 23 balls hitting four fours and two sixes. The all-rounder was dismissed by Roelof van der Merwe.
Dhoni played a typical Dhoni innings where he scored 68 runs in just 35 balls hitting seven fours and four sixes. The Indian skipper remained unbeaten sharing a 101-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar.
So near yet so far
Tendulkar reached the milestone he was chasing in the final over of the innings, but this was not the only time that the ‘Master Blaster’ had the historic figure in his sights.
186* vs New Zealand: 11 years before becoming the first player to score a double-century in ODIs, Tendulkar had fallen short of the figure by just a few runs. During the second ODI of the New Zealand tour of India, in 1999, Tendulkar had come close to scoring 200 runs in the match. The Mumbai-born player had scored 186 runs in just 150 balls and remained unbeaten against the likes of Chris Cairns, Scott Styris and Daniel Vettori.
175 vs Australia: A few months before the match against South Africa, Tendulkar had almost pulled off a great chase against the reigning ODI World Cup champions, Australia. Chasing 351, Tendulkar scored 175 runs and received very little support from his teammates except Suresh Raina who scored a half-century. Having played only 141 balls to score 175 runs, it was possible that he could have scored the double-century in that match if he had taken more strike.
163 vs New Zealand: Possibly one of the most heart-breaking matches for Sachin Tendulkar would have been against New Zealand in 2009 at Christchurch. The Indian batter had scored 163 runs in just 133 balls in the first innings but had to retire hurt due to cramps. When he retired, there were still 31 balls left in the innings and had it not been for the cramps, Tendulkar could have reached the milestone figure a year earlier.
Tendulkar stops Anwar
It was not just Tendulkar, the batter who made all the efforts but it was Tendulkar, the bowler who played a huge part in ensuring that the right-handed batter became the first player to score a double-century. In a match between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan in 1997, Saeed Anwar looked in great touch. The Pakistani opener was smashing the Indian bowlers all around the park but the Indian skipper, Tendulkar persisted with bowling himself. Tendulkar dismissed Anwar for 194 runs as the Pakistani fell short of the double-century by just six runs.
South Africa fail to chase despite De Villiers’ century
Coming back to the match, South Africa had a mammoth task of chasing 402 runs. But the Indian players and many cricket fans did not put it past the Proteas to chase it down as it had players like Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher who were not only part of the historic chase against the Australians in 2006 but also had the batting friendly conditions of Gwalior in their favour.
Indian bowlers, Praveen Kumar, Sreesanth, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja never let South Africa settle down. The Indian bowlers took regular wickets and had taken seven wickets for just 134 runs in the 23rd over. De Villiers scored an unbeaten century but it went in vain as he received no support from the opposite end. South Africa was bowled out for 248 runs in the 43rd over and lost the match by 153 runs.
