On This Day In 1994: Sachin Tendulkar Scored His Maiden ODI Century

Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden ODI century today, September 9. Regarded as one of the greatest ever to play the sport, Sachin’s wait for his first white-ball ton came to an end today back in 1994. He had to wait five years to crack the 100-run milestone for the very first time. Playing in his 79th ODI against Australia in Colombo, the then-19-year-old scored 110 runs facing 130 deliveries.

His knock proved crucial as India ended up beating Australia by 31 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium. Sachin even won the Player of the Match award for his batting.

Sachin Tendulkar had already scored his first international century in Test cricket at the age of 17 years and 112 days. He was the third-youngest player in history to record a ton in red-ball cricket. It took him eight matches to score his maiden Test century. Sachin had to wait a couple of years longer to achieve the same in limited-overs cricket.

It was the third match of the 1994 Singer World Series when Sachin Tendulkar scored his first ODI century.

The match began with India winning the toss and electing to bat first. The duo of Sachin and Manoj Prabhakar kicked off the innings for Team India. They combined for an 87-run stand before Prabhakar was dismissed by Shane Warne. He added 20 runs to the partnership before his dismissal. Next, Navjot Sidhu supported Sachin with 24 runs before making way for the skipper Mohammad Azharuddin. The then India captain scored 31 runs off 30 balls.

Sachin Tendulkar completed his century facing 119 balls. He hit eight boundaries and two sixes in the match. Sachin’s knock saw India cross 200 runs before the Master Blaster lost his wicket to Australia’s Craig McDermott.

Towards the innings’ end, Vinod Kambli produced an unbeaten knock of 43 to put 246 runs on the scoreboard for India.

Michael Slater and Mark Taylor began the chase against India but lost their wickets early. Rajesh Chauhan bagged two wickets for India. Manoj Prabhakar was the most impactful bowler for India, racking up three wickets as the Aussies were bowled out for 215.