On this day: Sachin Tendulkar scored his first and only century in IPL

Sachin tendulkar IPL

It was on April 15, 2011, when the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar smashed his first-ever century in the Indian Premier League while playing for the Mumbai Indians. 

It was the year when India had won the World Cup after 28 years in which Sachin Tendulkar played a pivotal role throughout the tournament. Wankhede Stadium was hosting the first match after the World Cup finals in which Mumbai Indians were playing against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The crowd was all abuzz seeing the Master Blaster batting after the World Cup. The MI innings started with Davey Jacobs and Sachin Tendulkar opening the innings for the side. While Jacobs was struggling to middle the ball with the bat, Sachin on the other side was slamming back to back boundaries. 

Sachin surely had one of the best outings that day as he smashed 66 balls 100 combining 116 runs with Ambati Rayudu (53 runs). With the help of their innings, Mumbai Indians set a mammoth target of 182 runs for the Kochi Tuskers. However, their opener Brendon McCullum powered his side with his blazing 81 runs. He put in a partnership of 128 runs along with the Kochi Tuskers skipper Mahela Jayawardene. It was Brad Hodge and Ravindra Jadeja who led the side in the final overs as KTK chased down the stiff target of by scoring 184-2 and six balls remaining. 

Sachin’s innings ended on a losing cause but it indeed was one of the most explosive innings by the Master Blaster in the shortest format of the game. He also became the first skipper to score a century in the IPL. In his IPL career, Sachin amassed 2,334 runs at an average of 34.83 including 13 half-centuries and a century. He was also the Orange cap holder of the 2010 edition of the IPL. In his mid-30s, Sachin proved that how the skills and class overpower the age factor, also silencing his critics with his scintillating knock.