OTD | Sachin Tendulkar ended his one-day career with fifty against Pakistan in 2012

For 24 long years, India’s hopes were pinned on one living legend, Sachin Tendulkar. After the 2011 World Cup glory he achieved the dream that he had been chasing for a long time. Now it was time to say goodbye to the game that gave him everything. On this day in 2012, he played his last One-Day international against Pakistan. 

The Master retires

In the previous match, Sachin Tendulkar reached the milestone that everyone was waiting for him to reach. He smashed his 100th century in international cricket, a feat that is very difficult to replicate. In the last group-stage match of the 2012 Asia Cup, India faced the arch-rivals Pakistan. Winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bat first. It was an extraordinary start from Pakistan as both the openers scored centuries and added a massive 224 runs for the first wicket. This opening partnership gave Pakistan a huge edge in this much-anticipated affair. 

However, India clawed back by dismissing the openers in quick time to make a comeback. The run rate slowed down and India prevented Pakistan from going beyond the 350-run mark which was very much possible at one point. A half-century from Younis Khan pushed Pakistan to 329 runs in the first innings. The Indians were on the back foot at the innings break as they had to chase a gargantuan target to win the match. 

Virat takes over the mantle

India struggled in the early stages of the run chase. Opener Gautam Gambhir was caught leg-before wicket by Mohammad Hafeez on the second ball of the first over. This early setback made the run chase even tougher. But a partnership between Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar kept India on track. A 133-run partnership between the two created some momentum for India. Sachin got out after a well-made 52 off 48 balls. 

After his departure, Virat was joined by Rohit Sharma who assisted the former perfectly. This pair almost did the job as by the time Rohit was dismissed India had already scored 305 runs. Virat led the team across the finishing line and ended up with an unbeaten 183 runs, his highest individual score in ODIs. India won the match by 6 wickets and completed the run chase in an emphatic fashion.