50 Fun Facts About Sachin Tendulkar

On what date was Sachin Tendulkar born?

He was born at the Nirmal Nursing Home in Dadar, Bombay, into a Marathi family.

Sachin's father named him after his favourite music director. Who?

Ramesh Tendulkar was a Marathi novelist and poet; Sachin's mother Rajni worked in insurance.

Which older brother introduced young Sachin to cricket in 1984, partly to curb his bullying?

He also asked coach Achrekar to watch Sachin from behind a tree so the boy would play his natural game.

Who was Tendulkar's childhood coach at Shivaji Park in Dadar?

He advised Sachin to move to Sharadashram Vidyamandir School, a Dadar school that produced many notable cricketers.

What did coach Achrekar place on top of the stumps to motivate a tired young Tendulkar in the nets?

Any bowler who dismissed him won the coin; Sachin would practise for hours to keep it.

Which Australian fast bowler told the 14-year-old Tendulkar in 1987 to forget bowling and focus on batting?

That same year he served as a ball boy at the 1987 World Cup semi-final in Bombay.

Which former Indian batsman gave the young Tendulkar a pair of his own lightweight pads?

He also told the boy not to be disheartened at missing the Bombay Cricket Association's Best Junior Cricketer Award; Sachin later wore those pads for his maiden Test century.

With which schoolmate did Tendulkar share an unbroken 664-run partnership in a 1988 Harris Shield match?

It stood as a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when two juniors in Hyderabad broke it.

What did Tendulkar score on his first-class debut for Bombay against Gujarat in December 1988, aged 15?

That made him the youngest Indian to score a century on first-class debut; he did the same in his Deodhar and Duleep Trophy debuts.

Which Bombay captain picked Tendulkar for the Ranji side after watching him face Kapil Dev in the nets?

He was 15; a year earlier he had been in the squad but used only as a substitute fielder.

Against which country, and in which city, did Tendulkar make his Test debut on 15 November 1989?

He was 16 years and 205 days old, then India's youngest Test debutant.

Which bowler, also making his debut in that 1989 Karachi Test, dismissed Tendulkar for 15?

Tendulkar's ODI debut followed weeks later at Gujranwala, aged 16 years and 238 days.

Where did Tendulkar score his maiden Test century, 119 not out, in August 1990?

He was the second-youngest player ever to score a Test hundred, and Wisden noted he was wearing Gavaskar's pads.

Tendulkar's unbeaten 148 at Sydney in 1991–92 made him the youngest batsman to do what?

He followed it with 114 on a fast Perth pitch against Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott.

In 1992 Tendulkar became the first overseas-born player to represent which English county?

He replaced the injured Craig McDermott, played 16 first-class matches and averaged 46.52.

Where did Tendulkar open the batting in an ODI for the first time, hitting 82 off 49 balls in 1994?

Wisden said the innings 'changed ODI cricket forever'; his first ODI hundred came later that year in his 79th match.

Tendulkar's first ODI century came in his 79th one-day international, in 1994. Where?

He had already been playing ODIs for five years; the drought ended against Australia.

How many runs did Tendulkar score as leading run-scorer of the 1996 World Cup?

He hit two centuries and three fifties in the tournament co-hosted by India.

Tendulkar's 143 against Australia in Sharjah in 1998 is known by what nickname?

The innings was interrupted by an actual sandstorm; an ICC poll in 2020 named it his best ODI innings.

Which spinner joked in 1998 that he was having nightmares about Tendulkar after being dominated in India?

Tendulkar made 446 runs at 111.50 in the series and hit an unbeaten 204 for Mumbai in the tour opener.

How many ODI runs did Tendulkar score in the calendar year 1998, still the record for a single year?

He passed 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year seven times in his career.

Against which team did Tendulkar score a dedicated century in his first match after his father's death in 1999?

He made 140 not out from 101 balls at Bristol days after flying back from the funeral.

Who took over as India captain when Tendulkar resigned in 2000?

Tendulkar's two spells as captain were unhappy; his second included a 3–0 defeat in Australia and a 0–2 series loss at home.

When BCCI's Sharad Pawar offered him the captaincy again in 2007, whom did Tendulkar recommend?

Rahul Dravid had wanted to step down; Pawar later revealed the conversation and credited Sachin for the suggestion.

What did Fiat give Tendulkar to mark his 29th Test century, equalling Bradman, in 2002?

It was handed over through Michael Schumacher; he then made 0, 0, 8 and 0 in his next four innings.

Where did Tendulkar score his 30th Test century, 193, to pass Bradman's record in August 2002?

It came in his 99th Test; India won the match and drew the four-Test series 1–1.

How many runs did Tendulkar make at the 2003 World Cup, earning Man of the Tournament?

He played 11 matches; Australia won the trophy.

Tendulkar's 241 not out at Sydney in January 2004 was notable for what?

He deliberately cut out the cover drive that had been getting him out; Dravid declared before he could reach a fourth Test double hundred.

Which injury sidelined Tendulkar for most of 2004?

He returned only for the last two Tests of Australia's 2004 tour, and then went 17 innings without a Test hundred.

Which two people talked Tendulkar out of retiring after India's early exit from the 2007 World Cup?

He calls the loss to Bangladesh on 23 March 2007 one of the worst days of his career.

Whose record for most Test runs did Tendulkar break in October 2008 during Australia's tour of India?

An 88 in the second Test took him past the West Indian; a month later he also passed Border for most Test fifties.

Against which team did Tendulkar score the first men's ODI double century, in February 2010?

His 200 not out beat the 194 shared by Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry, and crashed ESPNcricinfo under five million visitors.

The 2011 World Cup was Tendulkar's first title in how many World Cup appearances for India?

He had been Player of the Tournament in 2003 without lifting the trophy.

Tendulkar's 100th international century finally came on 16 March 2012. Who were the opponents, and where?

It was his first ODI hundred against Bangladesh, and India still lost by five wickets.

How many Test matches had Tendulkar played when he retired from all cricket in November 2013?

At his request the last two Tests were played in Kolkata and Mumbai so he could bow out at his home ground.

How many international matches did Tendulkar play in total, scoring 34,357 runs?

He remains the all-time highest run-scorer in international cricket and the only man with 100 international centuries.

How many Test runs did Tendulkar finish his career with in 2013?

It was the all-time Test record when he retired; he also retired as the leading ODI run-scorer with 18,426.

Which honour did the Prime Minister's Office announce for Tendulkar right after his final match in 2013?

He was the first sportsperson to receive India's highest civilian award and, as of 2024, its youngest recipient.

Between 2012 and 2018 Tendulkar served as a nominated member of which body?

He was nominated by the President of India to the upper house of Parliament.

Wisden's 2002 rankings placed Tendulkar second-greatest ODI batsman behind whom?

In 2013 the two were the only post-war specialist batsmen picked in Wisden's all-time Test World XI.

Which award did Tendulkar receive as ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2010?

The same year Time magazine put him on its list of the world's most influential people.

Which IPL franchise did Tendulkar captain as icon player from the league's first season in 2008?

He scored 618 runs in the 2010 season, then a record, and the franchise retired his number 10 shirt.

Which jersey number did his IPL franchise retire in Tendulkar's honour?

He scored 2,334 runs in 78 IPL matches and hit his only T20 hundred against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011.

Tendulkar bats, bowls and throws right-handed but does what with his left hand?

Sir Donald Bradman himself considered Tendulkar's batting style similar to his own.

What is the profession of Anjali Mehta, whom Tendulkar married on 24 May 1995?

They met in 1990; she gave up medicine after the wedding and they have two children, Sara and Arjun.

How many times was Tendulkar dismissed in the nineties in international cricket?

In 2007 alone he was out five times between 90 and 100, three of them on 99.

What is the title of Tendulkar's autobiography?

In it he explained the Hindi phrase at the centre of the 2008 'Monkeygate' row.

Which team did Tendulkar's side beat by 23 runs in the 2013 IPL final, his last?

He then played one last Champions League T20 that autumn before hanging up his limited-overs boots.

Which pair of Australian women bowled an over to Tendulkar during a 2020 exhibition match's innings break?

He had captained an MCC side in the Lord's Bicentenary match in 2014 after retiring.

Tendulkar took his 100th ODI wicket by dismissing which Australian captain at Goa in 2001?

He was a handy part-timer, and took Hayden and Gilchrist on the last day of the famous 2001 Kolkata Test.