The 'God of cricket' Sachin Tendulkar turns 51 today. The Indian batting legend has given countless memories to his fans right from the day he made his international debut at the tender age of 16 in 1989. (More Cricket News)
The right-hander has numerous records to his name including most international runs (34357), most ODI runs (18426), most Test runs (15921), most international centuries (100), most Test centuries (51) and much more. A list of all his records would go into multiple pages.
While his ODI and Test numbers are the best in the world, the Master Blaster played just one T20I scoring 10 runs off 12 balls against South Africa in 2006.
However, the Mumbai batter showed in the IPL that he had the skills to crack the shortest format too.
Tendulkar scored 2,334 runs in the IPL at an average of just below 36 and a strike rate of almost 120. He played all his 78 matches for Mumbai Indians.
Remember, IPL began in 2008 when the Indian legend was at his fag end of his career. The Master Blaster in 2010 became the first Indian to win the Orange Cap. In the same year, he was also adjudged the Player of The Tournament, again the first Indian to achieve the feat. Fans can only think of what prime Sachin Tendulkar could have achieved if such a league existed at that point.
Here are the top five IPL knocks from the Master Blaster in his short career in the T20 league.
65 (46) vs Kings XI Punjab, 2008
In the inaugural IPL, Sachin started late due to an injury and fans had to wait to watch the dream pairing of Sanath Jayasuriya. The legend then took a bit of time but struck form in his fourth match.
Sachin's first IPL half-century came in a thriller at his home ground in Wankhede. In a chase of 190 against Kings XI Punjab, the right-hander single-handedly kept Mumbai Indians in the game as other batters could not score big.
Eventually, MI lost the game by one run despite Tendulkar's commanding 65.
63 (32) vs Delhi Daredevils, 2010
At 37, Sachin was having a dream IPL and one of his standout knocks came against Delhi Daredevils early in the season.
The right-hander showed his class, and despite not hitting any six, scored at a strike rate of close to 200. His 63 built the foundation for MI to get to a massive 218 which the Delhi side could not chase.
Tendulkar was given the Player of The Match for his knock.
89* off 59 against Rajasthan Royals, 2010
Sachin continued his top form in 2010 and hit his fifth half-century of the season against Rajasthan Royals. In another knock graced with delicate drives and clips, the legend hit 10 fours and two sixes and went unbeaten.
His knock ensured MI got to an above-par total of 174/5 which their bowlers comfortably defended. The Master Blaster got another Player of The Match trophy for his match-winning performance.
74 (44) vs Chennai Super Kings, 2012
Chasing 174, MI saw the baton being passed as Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma batted together to bring up a 126-run stand for the second wicket.
When Tendulkar departed as the second wicket, he had scored a masterful 74 and put MI on the front foot. He had again relied on timing and laced his knock with 11 fours and just one six.
However, the legend's wicket derailed the chase and MI lost the advantage. With 16 needed in the last over, Dwayne Smith smashed three boundaries off the last three balls to take MI home against their now arch-rivals CSK.
100* off 66 against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 2011
High on his 2011 World Cup-winning performace for India, Sachin Tendulkar continued his fine form and hit his first hundred in IPL.
In their debut season, KTK faced the best of Sachin as the Indian legend smashed 12 fours and three sixes to end up at 100 not out off 66 balls. The Master Blaster completed his century on the last ball of the innings and took MI to 182/2.
However, the total was not enough and KTK won the match by eight wickets with an over to spare.
