#1 155*, Chennai, 1997-98
Warne is arguably Sachin’s greatest rival. It did not take long for him to become one of his biggest admirers. Their rivalry was the stuff of legends. The cunning genius versus the little master. Aggression versus humility. The Joker versus the Batman. It was a battle between equals. But one fine day in 1998, for a brief time, Sachin killed the contest definitively.
Warne won the first round when he got Tendulkar cheaply in the first innings. India was trailing by 71 runs when they came out to bat again. What happened next was a dominion unheard of against the strongest bowling attack at that time.
Sachin drove, cut and pulled mercilessly. It did not matter if it was with or against the spin. He went on to score a breathtaking 155 at an impressive strike rate of 81.
We should remember that these were the 90s. Back then, such a strike rate was gold in ODIs, but in a Test match, it resulted in batting Australia out of the game. India went on to win the game by 179 runs and that dominant innings set up a series win eventually.
Test cricket has moved on since the days of Australian invincibility but I do wonder at times, if we will ever see those days again. One thing is certain, though. We might witness teams rising to mighty heights or falling to dismal depths, but we will never experience another Sachin.
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