On August 14, 1990, a 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 119 to save the Old Trafford Test for India. It was his first international century — the start of a tally that would grow to 100 across formats. He shared an unbroken 160-run seventh-wicket stand with Manoj Prabhakar.
Tendulkar had debuted against Pakistan in November 1989 aged 16 and faced Wasim, Waqar and Imran. He had scored 68 at Old Trafford in the first innings of this Test but no half-century in his first eight matches had been converted.
India needed 408 to win on the final day, an impossible chase, and were soon in the survival zone. When Mohammad Azharuddin fell with India 127 for 5, the prospect of a heavy defeat loomed. Tendulkar, batting at No. 6 in only his ninth Test, had already shown signs of class but had never converted his starts. On this final-day pitch against an English attack of Devon Malcolm, Angus Fraser, Chris Lewis and Eddie Hemmings, the teenager constructed an innings of remarkable maturity. He punched Malcolm through the covers, drove Hemmings inside-out, and refused to give a single chance. Manoj Prabhakar, a Test all-rounder used to opening, defended doggedly at the other end. Tendulkar reached his hundred with a controlled push for two and barely raised his bat — partly because he didn't want to celebrate while the match was still alive. India finished 343 for 6; Tendulkar 119 not out off 189 balls with 17 fours.
India 109/4 when Tendulkar walks in on the final morning
Azharuddin out for 11 — India 127/5
Tendulkar-Prabhakar partnership reaches fifty before tea
Tendulkar reaches his maiden Test hundred with a push to leg
Prabhakar 67 not out, Tendulkar 119 not out — India save the Test at 343/6
August 9, 1990
Test begins at Old Trafford. England 519 all out (Gooch 116, Atherton 131).
August 11, 1990
India 432 (Azhar 179, Tendulkar 68 in first innings).
August 13, 1990
England declare 320/4. India 35/0 chasing 408.
August 14, 1990
Final day — Tendulkar 119* off 189; India 343/6, match drawn.
“I haven't seen anyone bat like that at his age. He looks like he's been playing Test cricket for years.”
“It is one of the most cherished knocks of my career. It saved the Test, and I learned that I belonged at this level.”
Champagne earmarked for the youngest English centurion was diverted to Tendulkar but he could not legally drink it under English law. He carried the bottle home unopened. The series ended 1-0 to England; Tendulkar averaged 47.66 across three Tests at age 17.
At 17 years and 112 days he was Test cricket's second-youngest centurion at the time (only Mushtaq Mohammad was younger by a month). It was the moment a generation of Indian fans realised the kid was special.
It was the first of 100 international hundreds — 51 in Tests, 49 in ODIs — across a 24-year career. Tendulkar later named the Old Trafford ton among his three or four most cherished, alongside the Perth 114 and the Chennai 136 against Pakistan in 1999.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.