Sachin Tendulkar Turns 50! Fifty Facts You Should Know About The 'God of Cricket'

SACHIN TENDULKAR 50TH BIRTHDAY: From making Test debut at the age of 16 to lifting the World Cup in front of his home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar’s career has been nothing less than a fairytale. The Master Blaster made his Test debut against Pakistan in November 1989. A month later, Tendulkar donned Team India jersey in ODIs for the first time against the same opponents.

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In 2012, he became the first cricketer to notch up 100 centuries in international cricket across all formats. Tendulkar also holds the record for most tons in both ODIs and Tests.

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As Sachin Tendulkar turns 50 on April 24, we take a look at 50 sensational facts about the legendary Indian batter.

50 Facts About Sachin Tendulkar As He Turns 50

1. With 200 Test matches under his belt, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for appearances in this format.
2. Sachin Tendulkar emerged as the most-capped Test player after surpassing former Australia captain Steve Waugh’s tally of 168 Tests.
3. Sachin Tendulkar has also scored most number runs- 15921- in Tests.
4. No other cricketer has yet scored more centuries- 51- than him in Tests.
5. He is the only batter to have notched up 100 centuries in international cricket.
6. He also holds the record for most half centuries- 164- in international cricket
7. Sachin Tendulkar made appearances at 90 different venues.
8. The Mumbai-born batter was the first cricketer to be given out by the third umpire in an ODI match.
9. Sachin Tendulkar got married at the age of 22 to Anjali Mehta.
10. Sachin’s father-in-law is a seven-time national bridge champion
11. His elder brother Ajit Tendulkar had a major role in Sachin picking up cricket.
12. His father Ramesh Tendulkar had named him Sachin after the legendary musician Sachin Dev Burman.
13. Sachin Tendulkar was a ballboy during the 1987 World Cup, co-hosted by India.
14. In 1987, both Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar were named among the 36 Bombay Ranji Trophy probables.
15. In 2000, he became the first cricketer to have scored 50 international hundreds.
16. It was alleged that Sachin Tendulkar’s bat was broader than the prescribed limits. Former England pacer Allan Mulally had made the complaint.
17. Tendulkar came across former India skipper Sourav Ganguly for the first time at the under-15 national camp in Indore.
18. Sachin Tendulkar’s first car was a Maruti-800.
19. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in November 1989
20. His debut Test was legendary Indian skipper Kapil Dev’s 100th
21. In ODIs, Sachin Tednulkar represented India for the first time in December 1989 against Pakistan
22. Tendulkar scored a duck in his ODI debut.
23. He made his home international debut against Sri Lanka in 1990.
24. Sachin Tendulkar managed to play only one T20I match during his career.
25. He had scored 10 runs off 12 balls in that encounter against South Africa.
26. Sachin Tendulkar scored his first Test hundred at the age of 17.
27. He managed to notch up 16 Test hundreds before turning 25.
28. Sachin Tendulkar surpassed Brian Lara to emerge as the leading run-scorer in Tests in 2008.
29. Sachin Tendulkar scored his first double hundred in ODIs against South Africa in February 2010.
30. His highest score in Tests 248 not out was against Bangladesh in December 2004.
31. His first century on home soil took place in 1993 against England at the Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
32. His first Test century came against England at Old Trafford, Manchester in 1990.
33. Sachin Tendulkar’s first bowling figures in both Tests and ODIs are identical, 1-0-10-0
34. Yorkshire Television contributed 30,000 pounds to commemorate his stint with the county club.
35. Sachin Tendulkar opened batting for the very first time ever during the second ODI against New Zealand in 1994
36. In Tests, he opened batting just once.
37. He had been involved in 20 century partnerships with former India captain Rahul Dravid.
38. Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar never got a chance to face former Indian skipper Anil Kumble in Ranji Trophy
39. He made a guest appearance in a Bollywood movie titled Stumped.
40. Sachin Tendulkar had also made an appearance in an Australian reality television series- An Aussie Goes Bolly- in 2008.
41. In his childhood days, Tendulkar used to sleep along with his cricket gear.
42. Sachin Tendulkar was coached by Ramakant Achrekar in his early years. Achrekar is a legend in Mumbai cricketing circles.
43. Tendulkar first gained nationwide attention after his 664-run partnership with Vinod Kambli in Harris Shield, a school cricket tournament.
44. At that time, two wards in Delhi’s Tihar Jail were named – Tendulkar and Kambli.
45. Tendulkar became the first cricketer to score a century on debut in Ranji, Duleep and Irani trophy matches.
46. He capped off his ODI career with 18426 runs under his belt.
47. The maestro retired from ODIs in 2012.
48. Sachin Tendulkar made his IPL debut in 2008 for Mumbai Indians.
49. In 2013, he announced his retirement from Test cricket.
50. In his last Test match, Sachin Tendulkar played against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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