Sachin sets Gwalior ablaze with double-ton

vIndianz.com (24 Feb, 2010) — Gwalior: Even as the whole of India was glued on to television screens lending an ear and eyes to Mamata didi almost through a day that had numbers and analyses following one after the other, at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior it was fireworks of a different kind. Living up to his name of God of All Things, Sachin Tendulkar blasted a double ton at the ODI against South Africa today.

In the process, the master blaster rewrote the record books by being the first batsman in the history of one-day international cricket to score a double century! Even as runs flowed, it was as if records too tumbled en route to the 200. One significant landmark, other than the double ton, was that Sachin also became the highest individual run scorer in a match eclipsing the previous individual highest score of 194 recorded by Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Conventry.

The double ton came in just 147 balls on a wicket that smiled favorably at the batsman. The Sachin extravaganza came after a sad start by India after skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat. Playing the same eleven that had tasted victory at Jaipur a few days ago, Dhoni’s hopes seemed dashed when Virender Sehwag was sent back after having allowed to hit a paltry nine. Sachin’s arrival in the middle just sent hopes flying. The confidence was all writ on his stance as he swayed his willow for neat boundary shots.

Scoring at will, Sachin’s race to the 200 run mark may be seen as game’s biggest and most awaited innings. Studded with 3 sixes and a cool 25 hits to the fence, the innings saw India zoom to a score that would give the South Africans some tough work.

Sachin’s fete came in the last over, and thus tumbled Anwar’s 13-year old record of 194 runs in a one-day international contest.

Sachin’s heroics seemed to have spurred the confidence in skipper Dhoni too, who hit a blistering 38-ball 65. India piled up a huge total of 401 for 3 in the stipulated 50 overs.

In the midst of all the fireworks, Yousuf Pathan too had a chance to party, with a partnership with Tendulkar yielding 81 runs for the third wicket. The partnership came about in just 47 balls. This 400-run innings is just the third ever for India. Karthik also saw runs coming his way as he helped himself to a career best 79 runs laced with 4 boundaries and 3 sixes.

It was Sachin all the way. Gwalior, in fact, proved to be the venue for an Indian batting resurrection by all means. A good batting wicket and Sachin’s ability to convert any ball into runs out of his willow came about after a long gap. No wonder, he reigns supreme as the cricketing world’s Master Blaster. Gwalior has cemented this fact, by standing testimony to such a flawless innings.

Further Reading

Stay updated! Follow us on twitter and subscribe to our feed via Feedburner.

Sachin sets Gwalior ablaze with double-ton

No Comments