India vs West Indies
2013-11-16
Sachin Tendulkar played his 200th and final Test at his home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, retiring after 24 years of international cricket — the longest such career in history. His retirement speech, delivered in the middle of Wankhede, moved a nation to tears.
India vs Bangladesh
2012-03-16
After waiting 12 agonizing innings to reach the milestone, Sachin Tendulkar became the first player in history to score 100 international centuries — an achievement that is statistically the most distant landmark from any other player in cricket.
India vs Sri Lanka
2011-04-02
MS Dhoni promoted himself up the batting order and hit Nuwan Kulasekara for six over long-on to win India's second World Cup — the first on home soil, 28 years after the 1983 win. The moment fulfilled a nation's dream and carried the weight of Sachin Tendulkar's final World Cup.
India vs South Africa
2010-02-24
Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman in history to score a double century in ODI cricket, making 200 not out off 147 balls against South Africa — a record that many thought was statistically impossible.
India vs Pakistan
1 March 2003
Shoaib Akhtar bowled what was then the world's fastest delivery — 100.2mph — to Sachin Tendulkar in the 2003 World Cup India-Pakistan match at Centurion. Tendulkar hit it for six over fine leg. One of cricket's most memorable individual ball-batsman duels: the fastest bowler on earth versus the greatest batsman of the generation.
India vs Pakistan
2003-03-01
Sachin Tendulkar hit Shoaib Akhtar — the world's fastest bowler — for a six over third man off a 93mph delivery in the most politically charged ODI in history, setting up a 6-wicket Indian win watched by 300 million viewers.
South Africa vs India
18 November 2001
Makhaya Ntini bowled a ferocious short-pitched spell at Sachin Tendulkar during India's 2001 tour of South Africa. Ntini hit Tendulkar on the helmet and body multiple times, drawing blood in one delivery. Tendulkar's refusal to yield and subsequent boundary hitting off the back foot made the exchange one of the great individual confrontations of the tour.
India vs South Africa
16 November 2001
Sachin Tendulkar was charged with ball tampering by match referee Mike Denness during a Test in South Africa, causing a diplomatic crisis between India and the ICC.
India vs South Africa
20 November 2001
Match referee Mike Denness charged Sachin Tendulkar with ball tampering and imposed bans on six Indian players after the Port Elizabeth Test, leading India to demand Denness' removal and nearly causing a diplomatic crisis.
India vs South Africa
1999-06-05
Herschelle Gibbs dropped a catch off Sachin Tendulkar after celebrating prematurely, reportedly prompting Tendulkar to tell him 'You've just dropped the World Cup, mate.'
India vs Australia
6-10 March 1998
Michael Slater claimed a low catch to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar, but replays suggested the ball had bounced before reaching his hands. The on-field decision was out.
India vs Australia
1998-04-22
In the space of three days, Sachin Tendulkar hit two centuries against Australia in Sharjah — one in a qualifying match against a desert sandstorm, one in the final — comprehensively destroying Shane Warne's aura and cementing his status as the world's greatest batsman.
India vs Australia
1998-01-24
The 1998 India-Australia Test series produced the greatest sustained individual duel in cricket history — Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne — with Tendulkar making 446 runs in the three-Test series, including 155 not out and 177, dominating the world's greatest bowler on his home grounds.
India (internal)
1 January 1997
Sachin Tendulkar's brief and unhappy stint as India captain in the late 1990s, replacing Azharuddin, was marked by poor results, factional politics, and the eventual return of captaincy to Azharuddin.
India vs Pakistan
1989-11-15
Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut aged 16 years and 205 days against Pakistan in Karachi — facing Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, and Imran Khan — becoming one of the youngest Test debutants in history and beginning the most storied career in cricket.