 It's a landmark that has not been achieved by anyone is cricketing history and
it is only fitting that it has been accomplished by one of the greatest batsman
of all time Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
It came in a country where Sachin's average is lowest and it came at a time
when India were desperate in more than one ways. After first innings rout South Africa were on top, Indians were grinded in the field and there were talks that perhaps the much hyped batting is only good on flat subcontinent wicke
Tendulkar came out in the middle standing up to not only a potent bowling attack
but also putting many questions to rest. The century stroke was unspectacular
with a controlled drive for one, but the landmark was extraordinary.
Sachin had reached his 50th Test hundred, his seventh in 2010. It was much
like his double hundred in ODI; same opposition, same bowler, same stroke that
brought it and even the same non-striker. He made it look easy, but the path
to this hundred was not straightforward.
He was playing fluently in the first innings but suddenly got out. In second
innings when he came out to bat, India had made a reasonable start and the score
was 214/3. The things went down very quickly and India lost Dravid, Laxman and
Raina in quick succession.
It was never really about winning or even saving the game, it was about losing
with dignity and even that was put to test when India were 277/6 - in
a bid to overcome first innings deficit of 484. But Sachin Tendulkar
held the innings together, kept his calm when the wickets were falling, took
his time and didn't rush anything. It was clear than Sachin had a plan, he was
determined to make something out of this match and he knew that if he fell,
Indian batting would come crumbling down.
When Dhoni was rocking SuperSport Park getting to 50 off 41 balls, Sachin was
patiently holding an end, playing every ball on its merit but with a defensive
frame of mind. The two put together a 170 and India had looked to overcome the
deficient but Dhoni fell and so did the rest of Indian batting, but Sachin stood
tall. He celebrated it with characteristic humbleness, when he cover drove Dale Steyn for one to bring up the century.
Everyone in the stadium was applauding and Indians were thinking that they
might pull of a miracle. It wasn't to be, India were defeated by an innings
and 25 runs but Sachin deservingly left the ground unbeaten on 111.
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