Sachin Tendulkar scored a hundred international centuries in one-day internationals and Test cricket combined, but he had just one ton in T20 cricket.
The 20-over format rose to prominence during the twilight of Tendulkar’s career. But the then 38-year-old batsman gave a glimpse of how good he would have been in the format had he played it during his peak in an innings for Mumbai Indians against Kochi Tuskers in the Indian Premier League.
On April 15, 2011, in the first IPL game at the refurbished Wankhede stadium where India had lifted the World Cup just 13 days before, Tendulkar scored his first and only ton in the IPL.
Starting off with his trademark straight drive, Tendulkar unleashed his full range of shots to bring up his half-century in the 14th over. The Mumbai batsman then cut loose and displayed some slogs one would rarely associate with him as he cleared the boundary three times in the death overs. He also hit 14 boundaries in the innings to bring up his century in 66 deliveries and take Mumbai Indians to a score of 182/2 at the end of 20 overs.
However, Brandon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene stitched together a 128-run opening stand as Kochi Tuskers cruised to the target with an over to spare.
Tendulkar’s ton may have been in vain, but he became the first captain in the IPL to score a century. For when the Master Blaster bats, the records always seem to tumble.
