5 times Sachin Tendulkar was denied a century by part-time spinners

#3. By Marcus North (1st Test, 2010)

Sachin missed a hundred due to an innocuous ball from Marcus North

When Australia came to India for a 2-game Test series in late 2010, Sachin was once again in the prime of his form. This ‘second wind’ had seen him achieve amazing milestones like scoring hundreds in four consecutive Tests and becoming the first man ever to register an ODI double hundred.

Against his favorite opponents – Australia – he was looking to continue his good form. He did that emphatically. Tendulkar scored a brilliant double hundred in the second Test of the series at Bengaluru.

But he could have had another century in the very first game also. This match was played at Mohali and India had to bat second after conceding 428 in the first innings. As expected, Sachin led India’s reply and played another beautiful inning.

Those were the days when every time he walked out to bat, a century seemed likely. This time was no different. Batting without any difficulty, Sachin was marching towards another ton. When he was at 98, Marcus North, who played 21 Tests for Australia as a middle-order batsman and occasional off-spinner, bowled to him.

North, who had a six-for to his name but ended his career with just 14 wickets, delivered an innocuous-looking off-break. Sachin tried to turn it onto the on-side but, unfortunately, he missed it. The little master was caught plumb in front of the wickets and adjudged lbw.

Perhaps, he was keen to get to three figures and thought about just pushing the ball onto the leg side for a single or two. Whatever the case, he ended up giving North the biggest scalp of his career and missed what would have been his 49th Test ton.