Tendulkar can finally discover his moment of satisfaction at Lord’s

Sachin Tendulkar describes himself as “happy” but never “satisfied” whenever he makes a century.

He is more familiar with the achievement than anyone else in the history of international cricket, of course – his nearest pursuer Ricky Ponting lags behind by 30 centuries – so it is sensible to take the ‘Little Master’ at his word.

Even he, though, may make an exception if he reaches three figures twice over with his 100th hundred for India at Lord’s this week.

Somewhere, some time relatively soon, Tendulkar will surely complete his own unprecedented century of centuries – a feat unlikely to be matched in his or anyone else’s lifetime.

If he were to do so at the home of cricket, on the landmark occasion of the 2,000th Test match in history and the 100th between his country and England, he could be forgiven if this time pleasure did transfer briefly to that greater indulgence of satisfaction.

If it does not for him, it will for millions of others anyway.

Most will be Indian, but not all by any means – and it is with good reason, as well as much well-documented fanaticism, that they idolise him.

They are not fooling themselves either in the knowledge that their man will deliver the goods.

Every batsman starts on nought, and every bowler is trying all he knows from ball one to prevent even a single run.

Yet somehow there is a sense of improbable probability that, on a ground where he has a meagre career-best 37 to date, Tendulkar will right the wrong forever.

It is not a statistical likelihood, of course.

Even the impossible numbers racked up by the peerless Don Bradman do not quite make for an odds-on century in every innings – and with a career average of ‘only’ 56.94, Tendulkar has had to beat the book 99 times so far in international cricket.

It is an emotional rather than factual premise to suggest he will defy a very good England attack, to the delight of his global following.

From the outset, Tendulkar’s achievements have appeared pre-destined.

He was the talk of Bombay long before his first-class or Test debuts, thanks to his astounding runmaking feats as a schoolboy.

One of Tendulkar’s earliest hundreds – an unbeaten 326 in an unbroken stand of 664 against St Xavier’s School, in which his partner Vinod Kambli outscored him incidentally – was an early indication that he is indeed not easily satisfied.

When he became Yorkshire’s first overseas player in 1992, the precocious 19-year-old offered a glimpse of what he would go on to achieve.

Tendulkar scored 1,070 runs in 16 first-class matches at an average of 46.52.

He only stayed at Headingley for one year but provided enough memories to last a lifetime.

Fifteen hundred people joined the members list at Yorkshire when Tendulkar broke the overseas boundary.

A hundred on first-class debut in the Ranji Trophy is pretty much a ‘given’, in light of subsequent events.

They soon included a first Test – memorably, against Pakistan in Karachi – after which he was lauded for his bravery against the pace of Waqar Younis in his pomp.

A year on, Tendulkar had a first Test hundred under his belt. After that match-saving 119 not out against England at Old Trafford, by 19 he was indelibly impressing the great Bradman no less with a wonderfully-compiled 114 against Australia on a lightning-quick pitch in Perth.

Precocious back then, Tendulkar is still going strong at double the age – unlike Brian Lara, the other batting genius of the past two decades.

There are several more significant differences between Tendulkar and the record-breaking Trinidadian, four years his senior.

Unlike the more mercurial Lara, Tendulkar has demonstrated a bankable consistency throughout.

His highest Test score is a mere 248 not out, to Lara’s world-best 400 not out – although he does have an unprecedented, unbeaten ODI double-century on his CV too.

Whereas Lara’s unfeasibly high backlift and flourish made him unmissable on any cricket field, Tendulkar is much more about quiet ultra-efficiency.

He does not have one breath-taking trademark shot. But with supreme balance and timing, he plays pretty much all of them at least as well as anyone else on the planet. Tendulkar bats on a different plane, not just on occasion when the mood takes him but habitually.

As such, comparison – even with Lara and superstars of other eras, though arguably not Bradman – does him no justice.

There is one other appropriate distinction to draw between the careers of Tendulkar and Lara, though – that while the latter’s coincided with an ongoing and unrelenting slump in West Indies’ once all-conquering stature, India and its favourite son have taken the mantle together.

They begin this summer’s four-match series against aspirational England as the world’s number one Test team and on the back of April’s World Cup triumph on Tendulkar’s home ground in Mumbai.

The fairytale scene was set there, of course, for Tendulkar to send a rapturous Wankhede crowd into delirium by going from 99 to 100.

For some reason, it was not meant to be... maybe because he was instead always going to close his most satisfying chapter yet with his maiden century at Lord’s.

Testing times since England debut in 1877

As England and India head to Lord’s to contest the 2,000th Test as well as their 100th meeting, we look back at previous landmark Tests.

The First Test – Australia v England, Melbourne Cricket Ground, March 15-19, 1877: An invitational match between James Lillywhite’s England XI and a Combined Australia XI fielded by the Victoria and New South Wales authorities, this MCG clash was widely thought of – and later officially recognised – as cricket’s first Test. Chasing 154 to win, England were routed for 108.

The 1,000th Test – Pakistan v New Zealand, Hyderabad, November 25-29, 1984: The acceleration of Test cricket’s schedule can be seen by the fact that the first thousand games spanned more than 107 years, compared to less than 27 for the subsequent thousand. The occasion of the five-day format reaching four figures belonged to legendary Pakistan batsman Javed Miandad, as he guided Pakistan to a seven-wicket win with a century in each innings.

The First England v India Test – Lord’s, June 25-28, 1932: Two half-centuries from captain Douglas Jardine guided England to a 158-run win in these two sides’ first meeting nearly 80 years ago. The one-off three-day Test was preceded by a search for an Indian captain, who in those days was required to come from nobility. The Maharajah of Porbandar eventually stepped in but handed the on-field leadership to CK Nayudu. Mohammad Nissar removed openers Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe, cheaply en route to figures of 5-93 but Jardine made 79 as England recovered to 259. Debutant Bill Bowes took 4-49 and Bill Voce 3-23 as India were restricted to 189 in reply, before Jardine’s 85 not out anchored England’s second innings. Eddie Paynter hit 54 in a fifth-wicket stand of 89 and with the help of Walter Robins (30) and Freddie Brown (29) set up a declaration at 275-8. That left the tourists to chase an improbable 346 to win and they immediately slipped to 65-4 and 108-7 before eventually being dismissed for 187.