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Sunday, Dec 11, 2005

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Master Blaster's best centuries

Vijay Lokapally

He picked his century at Perth in 1992 as his best Double century against Australia, a great knock

NEW DELHI: He overcame gamesmanship from the bowler; who stopped in his track to unsettle the batsman. An age old trick really. And then an edge to slip left the audience stunned. Would he get that priceless single to reach a landmark.

Bad light was another factor. It threatened to deny him the opportunity, but Sachin Tendulkar carried on. Just as he has for 16 years now. Giving Indian cricket enough to pride itself in.

His 35th century in Tests placed him at the pinnacle. Not his best effort, but the most momentous no doubt. He picked his century at Perth in 1992 as his best and the one at Old Trafford as "very special."

But there was one great knock that did not come in a Test match but defined the course of a series. His double century against Australia when playing for Mumbai in 1997-98.

That knock caused immense damage to Shane Warne's confidence as a bowler who could excel on India's turning tracks. Tendulkar's unbeaten 204 enabled Mumbai win the contest and in turn it gave India the hope against the world's most wily spinner.

Here, we pick five of his finest centuries, beginning with the unbeaten 119 at Old Trafford in 1990. Kapil Dev remembered the knock, "I still remember his face, radiant and full of pride at having saved the match. We would have lost but the little boy showed no pressure. At no point did he look nervous as the ball swung a lot. In that one innings I thought he took a giant leap towards becoming an all-time great."

Regal manner

For sheer entertainment and tenacity, his 114 at Perth will always stand out for the regal manner in which he plundered his runs. Kiran More, who was the partner in a 100-plus partnership, still has vivid memories of that day. "It was a difficult pitch with the ball bouncing and testing your skills. And there was talk of how this young lad would survive. The conditions were the most difficult but he showed his class with some outstanding backfoot play. Not the square cut but the drives he played to mid-off with a heavy bat. I was lucky to have watched it from the other end. It was the greatest batting treat I could have asked for," said More.

No wonder, Tendulkar rates the Perth performance as his best Test century.

In terms of quality, his unbeaten 155 against Australia at Bangalore was a gem. Navjot Singh Sidhu agreed, "he made it so easy for me. Warne was bowling in a blind spot because I couldn't sweep him. Every time Warne came around the stumps, I told Sachin to take over. And what a show he produced. Sachin attacked Warne by hitting him against the turn. It was a very calculated assault and one that was a sight for the gods really."

Great innings

If ever there was a century that was appreciated even by the opposition, it was Tendulkar's 136 against Pakistan in 1998-99. Battling a bad back and an inspired attack, he nearly crafted a dream victory. Wasim Akram rates that hundred by Tendulkar among all time great innings.

"A flawless innings under great stress. A model for all youngsters," he had said of that heroic. India lost, but as his partner Nayan Mongia summed up, the knock was a "unique batting show that placed Tendulkar above all contemporary greats. The Pakistanis were making things difficult but I must say that he batted as if he was born only to play cricket. God created him to bat the way he did and that day he was just amazing. I can never forget the innings because it came under the most demanding situations that you can imagine."

And then there was the 111 at The Wanderers against a motivated South African attack in 1992. One was fortunate to witness a charged up Tendulkar take on a raging Allan Donald.

"The conditions were not ideal for batting but he played his shots with great authority. His century put us in a strong position. The pitch was two-paced and bounce was unpredictable. But his strokeplay on such a surface was amazing. A trademark knock of Tendulkar getting on top of the bowlers. I haven't seen a better hundred on a difficult pitch," remembered Praveen Amre, who was also privileged to have watched that grand innings.

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