10) 241* at the SCG against Australia,4th test 2003-04 series
Sachin wasn't at his peak throughout the series,coming into the last test match he was determined to prove a point. Majority of his dismissals in the series till then were brought about by him flashing outside the off stump. So he came up with a strategy you wouldn't associate with him,anything outside off was left alone. He used to play at the ones on middle and leg. What followed was a fruitful partnership with Laxman to take India past the 700 mark. Sachin was the only batsman in the lineup who hadn't clicked till then in that series. Ganguly scored 144 at Brisbane,Dravid got 233 at Adelaide,Laxman too contributed at Adelaide and was at his consistent best throughout the series,Sehwag scored 194 at the MCG. Sachin decided it was time for him to join the party,given the circumstances and the way the series was poised,this innings finds a place in my top 10.
9)Hero Cup semi finals and finals,1993
This finds a place not for his batting but for his bowling. Those who were watching the semi finals will vividly remember the last over, Sachin snatching the ball from Kapil and taking it upon him to win the match for India. Defending 190 odd runs at the Eden Gardens and being successful at it is not an easy task. That last over of the semi finals was the most thrilling over I've ever seen. Sachin followed it up in the finals,he played a cameo towards the end of the innings along with Kapil Dev and with the ball got 2 wickets,the crucial one being that of Brian Lara. It is an unforgettable sight, Sachin bowling round the wicket,Lara surprisingly beaten for pace and the off stump sent cart wheeling to the boundary. That was one truly happy diwali!!!
8)165 against England at Chennai,2nd test ,1993
This was Sachin's first test century on Indian soil. What also started was a lovely relationship with the Chepauk. The way he got to his century was quite amazing,3 consecutive boundaries of Deven Malcolm,the last one,a straight drive,being the best. This also was one of the rare occasions we saw Sachin batting with a cap. This series was a 'brown wash' with India winning it 3-0 and gave hope of a new spin trio in the offing-Rajesh Chouhan,Venkatapathy Raju and Anil Kumble. However only the last person achieved what set out to do.
7)2nd test,Australia series,Kolkata,2001
This match is always remembered for Laxman's 281,Dravid's 180,Harbhajan's hat-trick and the fact that India was only the second team in cricketing history to win a test match after being asked to follow on. But what people tend to forget is that Ganguly may have delayed his declaration in the second innings which may have caused the match to end in a draw. In the last session on the last day, Sachin came into bowl and got the crucial wickets of Gilchrist,Hayden and Shane Warne. The wicket of Warne was a beauty,because he castled the king of leg spin with a perfect googly,this is one of the reasons it finds a place in my top 10.
6)155 against Australia,Chennai,1st test 1998 series
This was the first time Sachin was facing Warne in India and there was quite a lot of hype surrounding this contest. Prior to this match,Sachin scored his first double century in first class cricket while playing for Bombay against the Aussies. In the first innings of this match the excitement got to Sachin and he decided to attack Warne from the word go,but unfortunately he succumbed to it. In the second innings Sachin came back with a bang. He gave a beautiful display of how to play a world class spinner on a crumbling track. Warne bowling round the wicket made absolutely no difference to him and he turned the match back in India's favour.
5)136 against Pakistan,Chennai,1st test 1999 series
This series was marketed as the Sachin v/s Saqlain series. It followed a very similar script to the Sachin v/s Warne contest. Saqlain got the better of him in their first meeting.The second encounter however was under different circumstances.India were chasing a total in the 4th innings and on the fifth morning India were reduced to 82/5. What followed was an awe inspiring fightback from Sachin and Nayan Mongia. One shot of Sachin that is still fresh in my mind is a cover drive he played of Waqar Younis, the ball was slightly overpitched and swinging away from the off stump, the execution of that shot couldn't have been better. Sachin himself has admitted to weeping at the end of this match when India failed to win.
4) 111 against South Africa,Jo'burg,1992 series
Coming into bat at 27/2 and further being reduced to 77/4 Sachin played one of the best counter attacking innings ever seen. Imagine facing the wrath of Donald and McMillan and coming out trumps against them when the rest of the team around him were crumbling. Sachin's score was almost half of the team's 227 on that day.
3) 119 against Australia,Perth,1991-92 series
Playing at the WACA is analogous to playing on a marble surface-the pace and bounce separate the men from the boys. Sachin hadn't turned 18 till then but still displayed the grit and class of a player who had been around for 18 years. He handled Hughes and McDermott with panache.As would become the norm in the coming years,the entire team would collapse without offering any support to Sachin.Nonetheless,this innings gave the Aussies a taste of the stuff they could expect in the coming years.Sachin rates this as his best so far.
2) Operation Desert Storm- 143 and 134 against Australia,Sharjah,Coca-Cola cup,1998
This was undoubtedly Sachin's best year in International cricket(statistics may beg to differ ,but i am basing it on the kind of form he was in).The reason i am clubbing these innings together is that the second one seemed to be a continuation of the first and what made them even better was Tony Greig's commenttary!!.The first one helped India qualify for the finals(had it not been for umpire Javed Akhtar India would have gone on to win that match) and the second one won the finals for us. It was one of the rare occasions when we were chasing stiff targets(284 and 273 respectively),the team rallied around Sachin. Nayan Mongia was good support to him in the finals.Even in the finals,Javed Akhtar gave another atrocious decision in favour of the Aussies and Sachin's 25th birthday ended in controversial style.
1) 97 against Pakistan,Supersport Park ,Centurion,World Cup 2003
March 1st 2003,the setting was perfect,India v/s Pakistan in the World Cup,India fighting to maintain their unblemished record against Pakistan in the World Cup,and set a target of 270 plus to win and ensure their place in the next round. What followed was a Sachin blitzkrieg,it was triggered in Shoaib Akhtar's first over,the sequence of the last three deliveries were-square cut for 6,a good length ball on middle flicked to the square leg boundary and the icing on the cake was the sublime straight drive which went for another 4 runs. This set up the match beautifully and Sachin raced on to 97 of 75. A bout of cramps forced Sachin to call for a runner(which i think has always been a bad omen for him). It took a peach of delivery from Shoaib to bring his innings to an end with 100 runs required for victory. Dravid and Yuvraj completed what Sachin had started. This was the second time Sachin got the Man of the Match award in four World cup games against Pakistan,the earlier one was for his 54* and two wickets in the 92 world cup at the SCG.
So this was my top 10. While compiling this there were a couple of innings which i couldn't accommodate since it was only top 10(top 12 sounds pretty weird) but they are definitely worth mentioning.
90 against Australia,Wankhede,96 World Cup
Steve Waugh wishes in his autobiography that he should have been in the stands enjoying the innings rather than the receiving end on the field.Sachin usually doesn't perform at the Wankhede in ODI's and that makes this innings even more special.One shot that seems like it was played yesterday is a front pull of McGrath which was aimed between deep mid wicket and long on and hit bullseye. Unfortunately the wish of every cricket fan of Sachin scoring a ODI hundred at the Wankhede still hasn't been fulfilled. Sachin was stumped of a wide ball of Mark Waugh,which was thought of to be smart bowling,but we would later on come to know that there was nothing intentional about it!!
38 against Australia,Nairobi,ICC Champions trophy 2000
One may wonder why i was considering an innings which produced only 38 runs in Sachin's top 10. Those who remember this match may tend to agree with me because it was in this match that we got to see a totally different Sachin. He took the attack to the Aussies,he sledged Mcgrath(yes HE sledged Mcgrath),he sledged him with the bat too, coming down the pitch and spanking him over mid off and following it up with a majestic pull which i quote from Harsha Bhogle " He hit the ball out of Nairobi".He eventually succumbed to Lee but he had made his impact on the game,with debutant Yuvraj scoring 81 and the Indians playing out of their skins to win the match.
So there it is,the consolation prizes,if you feel i may have missed any innings or moments please do let me know.
Cheers for now.
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