Thirty years back, a young Sachin Tendulkar, just 21 years old, made waves in the cricket world with an incredible performance against a tough Sri Lanka team. Many consider him one of the best batters ever, and he certainly earned that title with numerous records that still stand today. One memorable moment came during the Asia Cup in 1995. On this day, he stepped up big time against the star-studded Sri Lankan squad led by Arjuna Ranatunga.
At such a young age, Tendulkar showed no fear. He knocked out an impressive 112 runs, making him the youngest player to hit over 3,000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs) at just 21 years and 114 days old. The previous record was held by none other than the legendary Viv Richards.
#OnThisDay in 1995, Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest man to score 3,000 ODI runs when he hit his fourth century in the format against Sri Lanka in Sharjah 👏
— ICC (@ICC) April 9, 2020
He was just 15 days short of his 22nd birthday! pic.twitter.com/GkzXsxbdZ7
The match kicked off with Sri Lanka batting first at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. They were a formidable team in world cricket back then, but India’s bowlers, especially Jagaval Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, had them under control. Together, they picked up five wickets, limiting Sri Lanka to 202 runs for 9 wickets. Hashan Tillakaratne was the top scorer for Sri Lanka, managing to get 48 runs off 78 balls, while Kumar Dharmasena and Sanath Jayasuriya contributed 30 and 31 runs, respectively.
When it was India’s turn to bat, the openers, Manoj Prabhakar and Tendulkar, made it look easy. They struck a solid partnership of 161 runs to set the stage for a comfortable victory. During this innings, Tendulkar played with a lot of maturity. Instead of blasting every ball out of the ground, he approached his innings thoughtfully, picking his moments to score.
Though Prabhakar fell after scoring 60 runs, Tendulkar kept his composure. Navjot Singh Sidhu came in next but struggled to keep up with Tendulkar’s pace and was out for just three runs, courtesy of a delivery from Sanath Jayasuriya. Even with a couple of quick wickets falling, India was still well in control.
Finally, Jagaval Srinath stepped in to bat with Tendulkar and helped bring the team home. He added a quick 14 runs off just 12 balls with two boundaries. All the while, Tendulkar remained steady at the other end, finishing his innings unbeaten with 112 runs off 107 balls. He hit a total of 15 boundaries and one six, leading India to a comfortable victory with 16.5 overs left.
This performance not only secured an eight-wicket win for India over Sri Lanka in Sharjah but also marked a special milestone in Tendulkar’s career as he reached the 3,000-run mark. By the end of his career, he would surpass 18,426 runs in ODIs, a testament to his incredible talent and dedication to the game.
