The Myth : India looses when Sachin scores a hundred.

      Hey guys, we all have been hearing this from quite a while again and again. The great "Myth" of the Indian cricketing world. "If Sachin Tendulkar scores a century, India will loose the match".(Bear with me if i use the word "myth" to refer to this statement repeatedly) This myth reached its pinnacle when he scored his 100th International 100 of his career. 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs. In here, we ll see whats really been happening when he scores a 100. I mean the man is know for scoring 100s so easily n so effortlessly, its the best you can ever expect from a batsmen. And he's been doing the job to the fullest but still been criticized , i mean thats just not fair. Now we will break down the 100s in his career and see what really happened. I mean, how did he manage to score a 100 and why did India still went on to loose the match.




      Lets just talk about ODI 100s. In tests there is no real argument which can speculate the myth. In ODIs, however there has been few points which revolve around strike rate, making use of the correct overs etc etc . Lets first start with the numbers. Sachin has scored 49 ODI 100s. Lets jus leave out the 18 90+ scores. Yes its the number. Out of 49 occasions where he has scored a 100 India has won in 34 occasions. Thats 4 more than the second best in the list of all time most 100s in ODI. The centuries also include one N/R and a tie. So that means India has lost in 13 matches where Sachin has scored a 100. Thats 26.53%. Thats means the statement can be pulled out for discussion only 26.53% times sachin scores a 100. The above statement what we are talking about here already stopping to make sense. 


     Let me talk about the matches where in sachin has scored a 100 and India went on loose the match. 


1. March 2, 1996, vs Sri Lanka, World cup Group stage match : 
        The Group stage match between India and sri lanka happened at the very famous firoz shah 
kotla stadium in Delhi. Sri lanka winning the toss put India to bat. SR Tendulkar scoring 137 at a strikerate of 100, personal high score, 2nd highest ever for India in ODIs at the time. SR Tendulkar and M Azharuddin put up 175 for the 3rd wicket partnership. But India could get only till 271 in their 50 overs. curse it on the sloppy India batsmen prabhaker(7 out of 36) or no ability of indian batsmen at that time to slog in death overs. A devastating assault by their openers, prabhaker(again) conceding 47 of his 4 overs , Ranatunga and Tillekeratne stand of 131, resulted SL winning with eight balls to spare. I dont understand how one can defend the myth in this case.


2. August 28, 1996, vs Sri Lanka, Singer World Series, second qualifying match : 
      Tendulkar launched himself into captaincy with a century. But his 110, off 138 balls, was made to look pedestrian by Jayasuriya, who scored an unbeaten 120 off just 128. After Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana had raised Sri Lanka's first-wicket record to 129, De Silva scored a composed 49 not out . This  saw Sri Lanka home with nine wickets and 5.4 overs to spare


3. April 22, 1998, vs Australia, Coca-Cola Cup - 6th match :
       Australia won by 25 runs, India's target having been revised to 276 from 46 overs. Toss: Australia.

At stake was whether India or New Zealand would join Australia in the final. Spectators and organisers were eager to avoid an all-Antipodean final, but Australia were less keen to oblige. Bevan, scoring his third century in one-day internationals, and Mark Waugh took advantage of a true pitch and slipshod fielding. India then had two targets: 285 to win the match, 254 to qualify on run-rate. After a dust storm accounted for four overs, these were revised to 276 and 237. Their success was thanks to a glorious 143 from Tendulkar. His highest score in limited-overs internationals (and the third highest for India) took 131 balls and included nine fours and five sixes. India lost the match, but achieved their main objective. This counts as a win in my book. 

       This match reminds me of the famous sachin vs warne rivalry. Both players had etched themselves into cricketing folklore. Both were legends who had little but their egos at stake. Shane Warne, injured shoulder ignored, round the wicket to Sachin Tendulkar on a Sharjah track offering some assistance was one such intriguing contest. Before the ball could come down and do its trick, Tendulkar had got to the pitch of it. And once the ball had been reached and the spin smothered, up came the heavy bat with lightning-quick speed to send it straight into the billboards at long-on. Warne had been conquered, Warne had been decimated. And he had been left with a vision that continued to haunt him. Warne, wiping the sweat off his face in frustration, desperation, or bewilderment and appreciation, perhaps. The great Shane Warne, for once in his life, had thrown in the towel. Tendulkar had well and truly won the contest of the titans. And soon, India the Coca-Cola Cup.

4. October 20, 2000, vs Sri Lanka, Coca-Cola Champions Trophy - 1st match :

          Tendulkar's 26th hundred in one-day internationals was not enough to set up an Indian victory. Only Robin Singh offered him significant support - they shared a century stand for the fifth wicket - and the loss of four wickets in the last four overs squandered the possibility of a more challenging total. India ending up at 224 in their 50 overs. Gunawardene finally made up for dropping Tendulkar on 26 by breaking his stumps with a direct hit, one of four run-outs in the innings. Jayasuriya negotiated Sri Lanka out of a shaky start, hitting seven fours in 53 balls, and later Sangakkara and Arnold added 95 as the Indian bowlers struggled to control the wet ball in the evening dew. .

Sri Lanka won by five wickets. Man of the Match: S. R. Tendulkar. 

5. December 8, 2000, vs Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe in India ODI Series - 3rd ODI :

        India  compiling an eminently defensible 283 and then reducing Zimbabwe to 52 for three. Tendulkar hit a brilliant 146 in 153 balls, with 15 fours and two sixes, his 27th century in one-day internationals, and the final over cost 27 runs as Zaheer Khan smashed four sixes off Olonga, reaching 32 in 11 balls. The Flower brothers, however, fought back with 158 in 30 overs, then a Zimbabwean fourth-wicket record. Later, Nkala hit 36 in 27 balls and, when he was run out in the final over, last man Olonga scrambled the winning single with one ball to spare. If you have a look at the match scorecard you can see there was little support for the masterblaster from the other end and also bowlers failed to make any impact.

6. October 5, 2001, vs South Africa, Standard Bank Triangular Tournament - 1st match :

      Ganguly and Tendulkar hit centuries to help India to the biggest total in a one-day international at the Wanderers but, with Kirsten in marvellous form, South Africa immediately broke that record with ten balls to spare on a batting paradise. Apart from the two centuries at the top of the batting line up, there was no contribution from the indian middle order.India's bowling was equally ineffective

7. March 16, 2004, vs Pakistan, India in Pakistan ODI Series - 2nd ODI : 

      Shahid Afridi, out of the Pakistan team for a year since the World Cup, made a glorious comeback, spanking 80 from 58 balls and rattling up 138 in 19 overs with Yasir Hameed. And late hitting by Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik saw 50 runs flow from the final five overs. Pakistan mounted up a mammoth 329 in their 50 overs. Tendulkar scored a superb century, India's first in a one-day international in Pakistan, and became the first player to reach 13,000 one-day runs. But his dismissal, sweeping to deep mid-wicket in the 39th over, galvanised the bowling; seven overs later India slumped to 284 for eight when Shoaib Akhtar fired out two in two. The valiant hitting of Balaji and debutant Ramesh Powar showed some resistanceIt also kept India in the game until the penultimate over, when Sami theatrically defeated last man Nehra's uncalculated swipe. Once again Middle order failure.

8. April 12, 2005, vs Pakistan, Pakistan in India ODI Series - 4th ODI : 

      After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India put on a score of 315 on a flat ahmedabad track. Thanks to some fine batting display by SRT, Dhoni and yuvraj in the final overs. One more front line bowling failure with Z.Khan, A.Nehra, L.Balaji going for 6.2, 8.3 and 7.3 runs/over respectively. Never before had Pakistan successfully hit a one-day target above 300, and this game was two overs short. But the chase was constructed with methodical skill that had all the hallmarks of coach Bob Woolmer. After Shahid Afridi knocked up a manic 23-ball 40, the middle order added 123 between the 15th over and the 35th, but struck only four boundaries. Pakistan crept forward until Inzamam's unfussy 60 saw them through an unexpectedly nerve-racking final over from Tendulkar, with just three needed

Man of the Match: S. R. Tendulkar.

9. February 6, 2006, vs Pakistan, India in Pakistan ODI Series - 1st ODI :

     Bad light had the final say in a simply astonishing opening game, as Pakistan sneaked to a seven-run win in a high-scoring cliffhanger at Peshawar. In a match where it rained 639 runs, india could manage only 23 runs in their last 5 overs coz of the tail collapse. If roamers are to be believed, thanks to R.Dravid(capt) for his poor judgement when lights were offered. and also tipped pakistanis the result if they refused the light offered from umpires. The match also marks for the infamous dismissal of Inzaman-ul-haq for obstructing the field. 

10. September 14, 2006, vs West Indies, DLF Cup - 2nd match :

     Tendulkar built a fine century - his 40th in one-day internationals - in his first long innings since elbow and shoulder problems in February. His unbeaten 141 was not enough for victory, as West Indies made another hurricane start, and had fortuitously just completed the minimum 20 overs when rain brought Duckworth/Lewis into the equation. The high run-rates were achieved despite the presence of a dent on a good length at one end, caused when a roller sank into the partially prepared surface some days before the tournament. It was more of a problem for the right-handers, and contributed to the dismissals of Dravid, Sehwag and Dhoni, all defeated by deliveries which kept low. When everyone fails one man stands tall. SRT, rose above the imperfections to strike 13 fours and five sixes, and later said he would remember it as a "special" hundred because he had to overcome the pitch and his injuries. India's bowlers were alarmingly loose in the early overs, and the batsmen took advantage before the rain.

Sachin During his epic 175 against aussie,
where he single handedly almost chased down a
mammoth 350.

Man of the Match: S. R. Tendulkar.

11. November 5, 2009, vs australia, Australia in India ODI Series - 5th ODI :

     Nobody does solos better than Sachin Tendulkar, nor, perhaps, has anyone endured as much heartbreak during those solos. It was India of the 90s all over again: Tendulkar almost chased 351 on his own but, with the target in sight, he got out and the rest choked, falling short by three runs with two balls still to go. In Chennai in 1998-99, Tendulkar, having played an innings as incredible as this, left the last three wickets 17 to get; tonight he left them 19 off 17. Before this, aussies had pile up a huge 350 on the board in their 50 overs. But the indian batting order continued their march of shame. SRT got very little support only from V.Sehwag and S.Raina. Result, India fell 3 run short with 2 deliveries remaining but no wickets.

Man of the Match: S. R. Tendulkar.

12. March 12, 2011, vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup - 29th match, Group B :

     After a fantastic start by Sachin, Sehwag ans Gambhir, Indian foolish/over-confident middle order, india were reduced from 267-1 to 296 all out . India lost 9 wickets in a span of 29 runs in 9overs. If only india would have built on the strong foundation laid by the top order we would have piled up a min of 350,360 runs, which would have definitely sealed it for us. 

13. March 16, 2012, vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup - 4th match :

    Clearly a bowling failure, in death overs. The bowling was below ordinary . Clearly we miss the likes of Zak n bhajji. Also the inclusion of dinda in the team in place of V.Kumar. Yes we might have been 20-30 runs short in the end, but allowing a team like Bangladesh to chase down 290 is what i call a clear bowling failure. 

Even after reading the detailed analysis of the losses in-spite of sachin's 100s in each of these matches, its very evident that Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsmen of all time. Even when the times are tough and everyone else have given u he still stood there fighting alone. There are matches i would like to talk about where india has won only on sachin's effort. Nobody talks about them, all people want to talk about is the myth. lets just give up complaining about the myth and let him do what he does the best. score centuries. There is a very little time left of his career. As Viv Richards said, "Enjoy Sachin while you can".