Almost a year after making his debut in ODIs, 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar was still striving to cement his place in India’s playing XI. During the second match between India and Sri Lanka, Tendulkar registered his first ODI half-century at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Pune to announce his arrival at the world stage. Notably, the milestone came almost a year after Tendulkar had made his debut against Pakistan in 1989.
On December 5, 1990, Tendulkar played a fine knock of 53 runs to guide India to a six-wicket win versus Sri Lanka and take 2-0 lead in the series. For his match-winning innings, Tendulkar also bagged his first Man of the Match award. Sri Lanka batted first, with the team scoring 227/8 in the first innings. Captain Arjuna Ranatunga top-scored with a 27-ball 58, with Tendulkar having a great outing with the ball as well.
He bowled nine overs and finished with figures of 9-0-39-2. Tendulkar picked up wickets of Roshan Mahanama and Dammika Ranatunga. Capitalizing on a solid start was given by the opening batsmen – Ravi Shastri and Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tendulkar came to the crease with the score reading 146/3.
He showed great temperament and skill and knitted a crucial stand with then-captain Mohammad Azharuddin. Both Tendulkar and Azhar scored half-centuries and conjured up an 80-run stand to put India in the driver’s seat. Tendulkar’s knock was laced with seven fours and one six.
The young Mumbai lad lost the opportunity to strike the winning runs as Azharuddin ended the match with his final stroke and India registered its second ODI victory under his captaincy.
Meanwhile, Tendulkar scored his first ODI century in his 79th ODI during an India versus Australia match in Colombo. During his 23-year long international career, Tendulkar scored 18426 runs in 463 innings at an average of 44.83 and strike-rate of 86.23. He hammered 49 centuries and 96 fifties in 452 ODI innings.