On This Day in 2010: Sachin Tendulkar Became First Cricketer to Hit 50th Test Century

Runs, records and Sachin Tendulkar go hand-in-hand. The generational cricketer not only reached another milestone on this day in 2010, but also set the bar high with this special Test hundred. With a single off Dale Steyn’s delivery, India’s batting maestro reached a landmark that was for long considered almost unattainable.

That single run took him to his 50th Test hundred, on day 4 of the Centurion Test match against hosts South Africa. He became the first player to hit as many centuries and the only one to do so till date.

Team India toured the rainbow nation for three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I that year, and the visitors didn’t start well in the first innings of the 1st Test. The home team won the toss and elected to field first, they bundled out the Indians for a paltry 136. In reply, the Proteas made MS Dhoni-led men toil for more than a couple days in the field and piled up 620 runs. India was staring at a humiliating defeat, but Tendulkar, 37, once again rose to the occasion and scored an unbeaten 111, which featured 13 fours and one six.

However, despite the legendary cricketer’s masterclass and a fighting 172-run partnership with Dhoni, who missed his ton by 10 runs, India lost the first Test to South Africa by an innings and 25 runs. But the fightback did set the tone for the rest of the series.

Notably, India won the second Test match of the series at Durban by 87 runs. Tendulkar went on to score another hundred – 146 which also happens to be his last in the longest format. His century in the third and final Test played a crucial role as India achieved their first series draw on South African soil. In the course of his enthralling innings, Tendulkar also crossed the 14,500 runs in Test cricket.

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