30 years ago, on this day, India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar began his journey to a hundred international centuries, as he slammed his maiden hundred against England in Manchester. The century came in the second innings, with significant pressure on India to save the Test after the top-order failed to impress in the 408-run chase.
Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 119 off 189 deliveries, adding 160 runs with Manoj Prabhakar (67*), eventually rescuing India from 183/6 to ensuring a draw.
Then-17 year old, Tendulkar had already made a name for himself with his gritty performance against Pakistan during his debut series, where he scored two half-centuries, famously after taking a blow in the nose during an innings.
However, his big moment finally came in Manchester on 14th August, 1990. England had piled up a strong total of 519 in the first innings and India showed grit as they scored 432, with Azharuddin slamming 179. Tendulkar also scored 68, holding one end as wickets continued to fall during the later stages of the innings.
India were eventually given a target of 408 and faced early setbacks with dismissals of Navjot Singh Sidhu (0) and Ravi Shastri (12). The side was 183/6 at one stage with star players like Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev back in the pavilion.
Tendulkar, then, began on his masterclass as he stitched a match-saving partnership with Prabhakar, ending up scoring his maiden international century. He was the second-youngest batsman to score a Test century at the time.
At present, he is the third-youngest century-scorer in Tests.
