The relationship between Sachin Tendulkar and his international centuries is very strange. His century has won matches for India but they have also been scored in lost and drawn/tied encounters. That proves that Sachin may be the greatest batsman to play cricket, but he is a mere human being, not God as envisioned by his followers. In fact, he himself told the media after the loss against Bangladesh that he doesn’t think of himself as a God! He may have scored his 100th century at Mirpur but it ended in a losing battle, where Bangladesh emerged victorious due to three half centuries, and a couple of quick-scored 40s.
But before we move ahead, lets talk about the breakup of his centuries. Out of his 100 100s, Tendulkar has scored 20 against Australia, with 11 coming in Tests and 9 in one-dayers. Sri Lanka has been his second favourite opponent since he has scored 9 tests and 8 one day centuries against them, taking the tally to 17. Kiwis have faced Sachin’s wrath (read century) on 9 occasions (4 in tests, 5 in ODIs) while he has scored 2 tests and 5 ODI centuries against arch-rivals Pakistan. 12 times he has scored tons against South Africa, 7 in tests and 5 in limited overs while 7 out of his 100 centuries have come against the West Indies (3 in Tests, 4 in ODIs). 9 times he has raised his bat after scoring a century against England (7 Tests, 2 ODIs) while Bangladesh have had to bear the brunt of his excessive scoring on 6 occasions, 5 times in Tests and once in one dayers, that too last Friday. 8 times he has stroked his way past 100 against Zimbabwe (3 in Tests, 5 in one dayers), 4 times against Kenya and once against Namibia.
In all, he has scored 51 centuries in Tests and 49 in one dayers. Out of those 51 Test centuries, 20 have seen India win the match, 11 have gone down in a lost cause where 20 have safely drawn the match for Team India. Out of his 49 ODI tons, 33 have seen India emerge victorious, 14 have seen India lose whereas 1 each ended in a drawn (due to rain) and tied encounter. On the whole, this proves that a century is no longer the guarantor of success, but everyone would give a guarantee that Sachin’s hunger for runs has made him a gem of a cricketer!
By umersharif
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