On This Day in 2010: Sachin Tendulkar Creates History by Scoring First Double Century in Men’s ODI Cricket

 At the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior, an entire nation cheered as a 36-year-old Sachin Tendulkar crouched low, stretched his bat outside off stump, and squeezed a ball to the fielder at point off Charles Langeveldt’s bowling.

As a sports fan, now and then a day comes along in your life that you never forget. As you become older, your brain records millions of sporting events, but only a few stand the test of time. Only a few make you remember exactly what you were doing when the event occurred. February 24, 2010, would be one such event for every Indian cricket fan.

The power that Sachin Tendulkar’s willow was wielding was no match for the South African bowlers.

The entire cricketing world rose to its feet and applauded as the Master Blaster made a record. He had just become the first person on the planet to score a 200 in an ODI, back when even scoring more than 150 runs in an inning was difficult for a batsman.

Although double centuries in ODIs are uncommon, they are no longer seen as something absolutely remarkable. Rohit Sharma has already broken the 200-run barrier thrice, but it’s important to remember how remarkable a feat it was for Sachin Tendulkar at that time. Both Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry had previously held the record for the greatest individual ODI score of 194 for the past 12 years.

When Sachin Tendulkar achieved the double century not-out mark in just 147 balls, the world looked up to see. The milestone was achieved by him in the second one-dayer against South Africa, a brilliant knock that helped the home team reach 401-3 in 50 overs. After bowling out the tourists for 248 runs, India won the match by 153 runs to take a 2-0 series lead.

“I’d like to dedicate this double hundred to the people of India who have stood by me no matter what for the last 20 years,” the man of the match Tendulkar had said at the prize-giving ceremony.

Sachin Tendulkar’s previous best one-day solo score was against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999, when he scored 186 not out.

Just three years after making the record, the legend hung his boots but his contribution to the gentlemen’s game goes beyond runs and artistry.

Kheloge Mota, Tabhi to jitoge Mota.

MOTABET.COM