April 24 – Sachin Day 

What’s most remarkable is that in a career spanning 664 matches for India across formats, relentlessly played around the calendar, year-in and year-out for a period of two and a half decades, Sachin Tendulkar featured in just one game for his country on his birthday: his 25th. This date, April 24, 1998, of course, was the desert classic in Sharjah, where he took on Australia seemingly all alone in the Coca Cola Cup final and triumphed. The knock of 134 is considered among his greatest-ever, perhaps second to only the 143 runs he scored two days earlier, against the same opposition, to help India qualify for the final of the triangular series (the third team being New Zealand) in the first place.

Before that famous Sharjah day (and night), the closest the great man had come to playing for India in and around his birthday was when he was still a great boy, a day after he turned 17 in 1990. This, co-incidentally, was also in Sharjah, in what was Tendulkar’s fourth ODI – this too being a triangular tournament against Sri Lanka in the Austral-Asia Cup. That day, and it was very much a day game, Tendulkar, batting at No.5, was run out for a score of 10. Eight years later was an altogether different story, from his position in the batting order (opener) to his role in Indian cricket (pivotal). He made it count in a most special way.

Even though his hundred on April 22, 1998 – better known as Desert Storm, for a sandstorm blew through the ground during Tendulkar’s innings and halted proceedings for a while – put India in the final, they had lost the match to Australia. So, coming into April 24, Tendulkar may have had batting momentum, but Australia had winning form. Then, in the decider, Steve Waugh’s side posted a total of 272 – daunting for that era. But young Sachin was a man possessed, banishing deliveries from Shane Warne, Michael Kasprowicz, Tom Moody, Steve Waugh and fellow birthday boy Damien Fleming to all parts of the iconic ODI venue. Set to the soundtrack of Tony Greig’s wonderfully delirious commentary, the hundred won India the match and the series, with Tendulkar receiving their respective individual awards and even collecting a bear hug by the boundary rope from Mark Mascarenhas, the owner of WorldTel who had already made the batsman the richest cricketer in history with a hefty contract.

Tendulkar, or any other cricketer for that matter, never quite experienced an on-field birthday quite like his 25^th, but he did feature twice for his IPL side, Mumbai Indians, on his big day in the dregs of his career. The first of those was in 2011, some three weeks after he had turned World Cup winner, when he played against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad. Tendulkar made 28 runs, holing out at long on to Amit Mishra. Two birthdays later in 2013, his final season for club and country, Tendulkar was part of the MI side that took on Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. Bowled by Sunil Narine for 2 runs, it was a forgettable evening with the bat for the greatest cricketer of all time. But perhaps bigger than the game himself, Tendulkar had just turned 40, and that was reason enough for the country to celebrate the occasion.

664 matchesbatsmanbirthdayDesert StormIndian cricketSachin TendulkarSharjah