Sachin Tendulkar makes his ODI debut in Gujranwala (Twitter)
Sachin Tendulkar makes his ODI debut in Gujranwala (Twitter)December 18, 1989 is one of the special dates etched in the history of cricket, as it was 34 years ago on this day when the legendary Sachin Tendulkar made his one-day international debut for India.
The ‘Master Blaster’ continued his impressive run in Pakistan with his maiden outing in the One-Dayers after making his famous Test debut in Karachi at the age of 16 earlier in the well-documented journey.
The match was the second ODI of the three-match series played in Gujranwala and was severely affected by rain as the overs were reduced to just 16 overs per side.
Once the rain halted proceedings, Pakistan went on to post a score of 87/9 in their overtime quota, thanks to youngster Saeed Anwar’s stunning knock of 42 not off just 32 balls.
When Tendulkar made his ODI debut
While chasing runs, India failed to give a solid account of themselves in a short match as they fell agonizingly close to the target, losing by seven runs.
For Tendulkar, it has not been the happiest start to the limited-overs game. The teenage sensation was out by Wasim Akram off the bowling of captain Imran Khan without opening his account.
Who would have known or expected at that time that the man who could not even trouble the run-scorers in his first match would become the most prolific run-maker in one-day cricket ever.
In a remarkable rise from childhood prodigy to one of the game’s biggest legends, Tendulkar has racked up a whopping 18,426 runs over 463 ODIs at an average of 44.83 and a strike rate of 86.23, including 49 centuries and 96 fifties.
It has taken another decade since the great man played his last international match in March 2012 for his almighty successor Virat Kohli to surpass his 20th century tally during the recent 2023 ICC World Cup in India, while the number one batsman’s number of runs still stands at no. Unparalleled in the game.