Reliving Sachin Tendulkar's ODI hundreds (16-20)

#5 Century no. 20 - 118* against Zimbabwe, Sharjah, 1998

Tendulkar was back to the Sharjah arena that had permanently listed him as a thorn in the Australian’s flesh for the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy, featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Having been beaten by Zimbabwe in the previous encounter, the onus was on the Indian batsmen to chase down the target that their rivals would put on board.

Rattled by the bowling of India’s slower bowlers, Zimbabwe could muster up just 196 runs on the board, which hardly proved a challenge with Tendulkar’s fine-flowing century. His 118 runs were scored in just 112 deliveries and as he notched up his eighth ODI hundred in 1998, he had given wide glimpses of his skills and his mastery.