Manchester: As one roams around the members’ pavilion and the area adjoining it at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Greater Manchester, one thing stands out- the honours board, just like they have it down at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
The honours board bears the names of the players who have scored 100 or taken five wickets in an innings in a Test. And one distinct name from an Indian point of view, though this one at Old Trafford stands out. Why? A good enough reason!
The honours boards shows that it was here in 1990, Sachin Tendulkar notched up his first out of hundred tons when he scored an unbeaten 119 against England in a Test match.
It was from here, that the records started tumbling at an incredible rate for the boy from Mumbai. The year was 1990, and it was England hosting India for a Test series at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
An international call-up and a Test debut arrived for the promising youngster against bitter rivals Pakistan at the tender age of 16 at Karachi in 1989 where Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis ‘welcomed’ the then 16-year-old to the Test arena.
Little did a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar knew, that for next 24 years, he would carry the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders.
The beginning
England, batting first, posted a humongous total of 519 in the first innings. In reply, India scored 432 courtesy magnificent 179 from captain Mohammed Azharuddin and 68 from Tendulkar. In the second innings, the hosts declared at 320/4, giving India a target of 408 to chase.
They were reeling at 127/5 when Tendulkar came out in the middle. From there on, he, alongside Manoj Prabhakar, played brilliantly and went on to score his first international ton. His inning of 119 consisted of 17 boundaries. Both him and Prabhakar took India to 343/6 before the stumps on the final day and thus saved the match for the team.
What is fascinating is that Tendulkar was just 17 years, 112 days old when he hit his maiden Test ton.
That was just the beginning, as Tendulkar went on to score 99 more hundreds in international cricket. He also became the first man to play 200 Tests in his final international match in November 2013. He scored a total of 15,921 Test runs, the most by any batsman.