So far, Sachin Tendulkar is the all-time highest run-getter in Test and ODI cricket. Even after retiring from the game in 2013, no other player has come close to surpassing his aggregate runs in both formats. At one stage, former England skipper Alastair Cook came close to breaking his Test aggregate with more than 12000 runs. However, he retired from the game in 2018 at 32.
On the other hand, the 2011 World Cup winner also has the highest number of centuries across all formats. Only Virat Kohli, with 47 ODI hundreds, is close to Breaking Sachin’s 49 ODI hundred record. Meanwhile, in this listicle, we will discuss the three best Test innings of the Master Blaster.
Three best Test innings of Sachin Tendulkar
1. 114 runs against Australia at Perth in the 1991-92 series
India was going through a nightmare tour of Australia in 1991-92. While the team was doing poorly (as they hardly won games), a young Sachin Tendulkar announced himself. Against the like of Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Riefel, Mike Whitney, and Tom Moody, Tendulkar played them with ease and command.
In the last game of the five-match Test series, the right-hander scored 114 runs in just 161 balls, including 16 fours. This inning came at a time when the then Mohammad Azharuddin-led side lost eight wickets for 159 runs in reply to Australia’s 346. Sachin’s innings helped the tea reach 272 all-out. In the end, India lost the game by 300 runs.
2. 241 not out against Australia in the 2003-04 series
In the four-match Test series between India and Australia, Tendulkar was struggling and was getting out in different ways. Also, he was famously getting out trying to play the cover drives. However, in the last game in Sydney, the Master Blaster displayed immense discipline in not playing cover drive.
In the first innings of the game, the Mumbaikar scored 248 not out, including 33 fours, and batted for 613 minutes, which makes for 10 hours and 13 minutes. His innings helped the team reach a whopping 705/7, the highest team total by an opposition team down under.
3. 146 against South Africa in the 2010-11 series
In India’s tour of South Africa in late 2010, the Men In Blue played a three-match Test, a one-off T20I and a five-match T20I series. Eventually, it was the last time Sachin played in the rainbow nation. Also, his final Test hundred came in early 2011 during the same series.
After levelling the Test series 1-1, both teams locked horns in Cape Town for the series. After batting first, the Proteas scored 362 all-out. In reply, India lost two wickets for 28 runs. The likes of Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar took the team to 204. However, after their partnership was broken, the team was reduced to 247/6. However, Sachin’s hundred and batting with the tail ensured India was only trailing by two runs. Ultimately, India could only draw the game, and their dream of winning a Test series in South Africa remains a distant dream.