During his remarkable 24-year career, Sachin Tendulkar earned a flawless reputation in a team sport like cricket and made a lasting impact on the game in India. He changed Indian cricket forever, setting new records with the most runs, centuries, the fifties, fours, and matches, amongst many other achievements. His legacy lives on, making him a true cricket legend.
Sachin Tendulkar achieved many incredible feats in his cricket career, some of which remain unmatched even today. He is the leading run-getter in international cricket and holds the record for most centuries, but that is just the start of it. Here are seven records held by Sachin Tendulkar, so extraordinary that they almost seem unbreakable:
7 Sachin Tendulkar records that won’t be beaten
100 international centuries
This record of Sachin Tendulkar might never get broken in the sport of cricket. Sachin Tendulkar holds an extraordinary record that no other cricketer comes close to matching. Despite hopes that Virat Kohli might one day break this record, it now appears improbable. To date, only Sachin has scored a whopping 100 centuries in 782 innings, something no one has yet achieved. Sachin Tendulkar’s impressive record was obtained through years of commitment and dedication to cricket. Known as the “God of Cricket,” he achieved tremendous success over his 24-year career, creating multiple records. Coming in a distant second to Sachin are Virat Kohli (73) and Ricky Ponting (71).
Most international centuries in cricket:
- Sachin Tendulkar: 100
- Virat Kohli: 73
- Ricky Ponting: 71
- Kumar Sangakkara: 63
- Jacques Kallis: 62
Most ODI runs in a calendar year
In April 1998, Sachin Tendulkar created a legendary moment in cricket history with his incredible batting performances in the Sharjah Desert Storm’. Fans were enthralled as Tendulkar, at his peak, outclassed Shane Warne with an aggressive style of batting. To date, these two magical innings remain some of the most cherished and remembered moments in Sachin’s and his fans’ lives.
Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 1894 ODI runs in a single year has been untouched for 25 years. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid came close to breaking the record in the following year, but no one has achieved the feat so far.
Most ODI runs in a calendar year:
- Sachin Tendulkar: 1894 (1998)
- Sourav Ganguly: 1767 (1999)
- Rahul Dravid: 1761 (1999)
- Sachin Tendulkar: 1611 (1996)
- Matthew Hayden: 1601 (2007)
Most runs at the World Cup
Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer in history to have scored over 2000 runs in the World Cup. He finished with 2278 runs across 6 World Cups. Furthermore, Tendulkar holds the record for being the single highest scorer in a World Cup with 673 runnings in the 2003 competition. Sachin Tendulkar played with an average of 56.95 runs in the World Cup and maintained a strike rate of 88.98. Ricky Ponting is the second on the list. The Australian has scored 1743 runs in the World Cups.
Most runs in World Cups
- Sachin Tendulkar: 2278 runs
- Ricky Ponting: 1743 runs
- Kumar Sangakkara: 1532 runs
- Brian Lara: 1225 runs
- AB de Villiers: 1207 runs
15000+ runs and 150+ wickets in ODIs
It’s no surprise that Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have scored over 15000 runs in his career. He was also a very handy bowler, especially during the early stages of his ODI career, taking 154 wickets with an average of 44. What made him truly unique was his ability to quickly switch between off-spin, leg-spin, and medium pace, depending on the situation.
Sachin Tendulkar’s bowling skills were not just about the wickets he took but also about the way he used them to his advantage. He had great control of the ball and was often able to read the situation to anticipate what the batsman was likely to do. His bowling was a key part of his success in ODI cricket, and he even managed to bowl economically during the tough phases of a match, making him a valuable all-rounder.
Sachin Tendulkar has always been humble when it comes to his bowling skills. He has said that while he is proud of what he achieved as a bowler, he is more proud that he contributed to the team’s success. He believes that his most important contribution as a cricketer was consistently delivering in the toughest of situations.
Sachin Tendulkar has said, “I am proud of my bowling achievements, but more importantly, I am proud of being able to contribute to the team’s success. I believe the measure of a cricketer lies in how well they perform in the toughest of situations.”
Most Man of the Match awards in ODIs
Creator: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR | Credit: AFP via Getty Images Copyright: 2011 AFP
Over the course of his illustrious career, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the Man of the Match accolade 62 times in one-day international cricket, well above Sanath Jayasuriya’s 48 awards. After them, there is quite a significant gap in numbers with Virat Kohli (37), Jacques Kallis (32), Ricky Ponting (32), and Shahid Afridi (32). Sachin Tendulkar’s one-day international record has long since been unmatched, and his Man of the Match awards are a testament to that.
Most international runs
Sachin Tendulkar holds an unassailable lead in the rankings for most international runs scored across all formats of the game, with 34357 runs, nearly 7000 runs ahead of the second-placed Kumar Sangakkara on the list. This is an incredible 20% difference. He also holds the record for being the highest run scorer in both ODIs and Test cricket, with Virat Kohli and Alastair Cook being the only two names capable of challenging these records.
Most international runs:
1) Sachin Tendulkar: 34357
2) Kumar Sangakkara: 28016
3) Ricky Ponting: 27483
4) Mahela Jayawardene: 25957
5) Jacques Kallis: 25534
Most Test runs at number 4
Sachin Tendulkar began his Test career by batting at different positions but eventually settled into the number four spot as an essential part of India’s batting line-up. The renowned number four batsman racked up an incredible 13,492 runs in this position. Number four is considered a crucial batting position in cricket, as the batsman typically follows the loss of two wickets. Former Sri Lankan ace Mahela Jayawardene holds the second-highest run count for a number 4 batsman, with 9,509 runs scored after the loss of two wickets.
Other Sachin Tendulkar’s records which are very tough to break
Sachin Tendulkar is a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer. The things he has achieved on the field are impossible to achieve for any other cricketer. However, a few cricketers like Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are looking to break a few of them. Only time will tell whether these cricket players can break SRT’s records.
Here’s a look at some of the other records by Sachin Tendulkar.
Most runs in Test cricket and ODI cricket:
Creator: Pal Pillai | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2010 Getty Images
During his illustrious career, Sachin Tendulkar amazed the cricketing world by becoming the top run-scorer in ODI cricket halfway through his ODI career. With a total of 18,426 runs, he ended his ODI career an incredible 4,000 runs ahead of his nearest competitor, Kumar Sangakkara (14234). Similarly, he is the all-time leading run-scorer in Tests, with 15,921 runs. Despite several players have come close, none have been able to surpass his records and recreate the same level of success achieved by Sachin.
Most fifty-plus scores
Virat Kohli might challenge Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most international centuries, but the Little Master’s record of most fifty-plus scores is likely to remain intact forever. Sachin Tendulkar scored 145 fifty-plus scores in ODIs, 27 more than the next-highest batsman, and 119 in Tests, 16 more than the runner-up. Sachin scored 264 fifty-plus scores in international cricket, an impressive 47 more than second-place Ricky Ponting (217).
Most boundaries scored
It is highly unlikely that any player will be able to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of fours in Test and ODI formats. He hit around 2,058(+) fours in Test cricket and 2,016 in the ODI format, more than 400 fours ahead of the next-best player. When he retired, he had accumulated around 4,076(+) fours in international cricket, an astonishing 1,000 fours more than second-placed Kumar Sangakkara (3,015).
Most International Matches Played
Sachin Tendulkar’s incredible 24-year career was capped off with his 200th Test match appearance, a record that is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon as the second-most appearances belong to Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh at 168. He also holds the records for most ODI (463) and international (664) appearances, which are an intimidating feat for players of the current generation. Mahela Jayawardene was close to breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most international games played, as he featured in 448 One-Day Internationals and 652 total international games.
Conclusion
Sachin Tendulkar has been the most complete batsman in the international arena. Legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Shane Warne, Ricky Pointing, and Brian Lara have considered him one of the greatest ever to hold a cricket bat. Team India player Virat Kohli considers Sachin Tendulkar his idol.
While some of his records will certainly be beaten, there are many that are impossible to achieve for any other cricket player. What do you think which record of Tendulkar will be broken in the near future?
