SK Flashback: Sachin Tendulkar's 155* against Australia in Chennai

The century and beyond

Mark Kasprowicz was thrown the ball and in his over, Tendulkar brought up his 15th Test hundred with an enticing leg glance for a boundary. He took off his helmet and soaked in the applause. After all, everyone knew the importance of this innings under the circumstances. The hundred had come in quick time, off 127 balls laced with 10 hits to the boundary and four over it.

But the Master Blaster was not done yet.

A couple of short balls from Kasprowicz were dispatched to the boundary. The first one was muscled away to the square-leg fence and the second, cut away with authority. The lead was building and the pressure was mounting on the visitors.

An innings that was defined by aggression was suddenly showcasing exemplary finesse when Mark Waugh was brought on to bowl, hoping for a stroke of luck. However, two beautiful late cuts through the vacant slip region from Tendulkar’s blade meant the move had severely backfired.

Having led India to a position of strength, Tendulkar drove Robertson down the ground for a single to bring up his 150 and the team’s 400. The lead had swelled to 328 and Tendulkar had managed to score more than one-third of the team’s total. A couple of overs later, Azharuddin decided to declare and the target for Australia was set at an improbable 348 runs.