Recalling Sachin Tendulkar’s IPL heroics on his 45th birthday

There was hardly any corner left in the cricketing world where Sachin did not leave his footprints, and the Indian Premier League wasn’t any different. The master-blaster from India, when he hung his boots, had almost all the batting records under his name. Be it centuries of century or piling up 34,347 runs in International Cricket, Tendulkar is the man who still holds most of the records intact. Although T-20 cricket, the shortest version of the game, came into existence in the very latter part of his career, the master was no ordinary batsman in this format either. Sachin played just a single International T20 for India and scored merely 10 runs, but his IPL records speak volumes about the character and perseverance of the man referred to as ‘the god of cricket’.

One such corner being the 2010 IPL edition where he was awarded the ‘Orange Cap’ for smashing most runs in the tournament, becoming the first ever Indian player to achieve the feat. Shaun Marsh (Kings XI Punjab) and Matthew Hayden (Chennai Super Kings) had previously conquered the ‘Orange Cap’ in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

We put together some of Sachin’s most defining IPL innings:

Sachin’s 68 vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2009

The second season of the IPL had to be shifted to South Africa. But when did the change in soil affected Sachin’s? In the 17th match in Port Elizabeth, MI won the toss and opted to bat first. Tendulkar began with a flashing six over the third man with an uppercut, in a much similar fashion like the memorable hit over Third man off Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup Semi-final. The then Mumbai skipper scored 68 off 45 balls, with 6 fours and 2 sixes that propelled the team’s score to 187 at the end of 20 overs. MI clinched the match by 92 runs and Tendulkar was declared the man of the match.

Sachin’s 63 vs Delhi Daredevils, 2010

After hitting the first ever double hundred in ODIs, Sachin entered the third edition of the IPL in a mood to entertain one and all. Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi witnessed a thunder strike rate of 196 from the maestro. Sachin’s thunderous 63 off just 32 balls included 11 boundaries which took the DD by surprise as Mumbai emerged victorious by a massive margin of 98 runs.

Sachin’s 72 vs Chennai Super Kings, 2010

Although CSK summoned a total of 180 runs against the mighty Mumbai Indians, the master had different plans in store for his opposition. With a charismatic knock of 72, he helped his team chase the target with an over to spare. By the time he was undone off a slower one from Balaji, Mumbai needed just 9 runs off 10 balls.

Sachin’s 100* vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 2011

Unlike the trend in the past few years, Mumbai Indians began IPL 2011 on a very strong note by winning their first two matches comprehensively. Up against the then new franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the third match at Wankhede, Tendulkar scored his first ever T20 century in front of his home crowd. With a single off the final delivery, Sachin reached to the feat off 66 balls. Mumbai Indians finished their innings at 182/2. But Sachin’s MI were denied a victory as Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene toiled with the bowling attack to help KTK win by 8 wickets and an over still to spare. It was the Kochi's franchise first IPL win and Mumbai's first defeat of the season, a result few predicted after Tendulkar had combined power and placement to reach to a memorable century.

Sachin Tendulkar was into his late 30s by the time the Indian Premier League began, but he still managed to produce some brilliant knocks throughout the six seasons he was a part of. He amassed a total of 2334 runs at an average of 34.83 including 13 fifties and a hundred.

The Master Blaster was adjudged the Man of the Match on 8 occasions and was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in IPL 2010.

Being retired from ODI cricket in 2012, Sachin decided to bid adieu to the IPL after seizing the tournament trophy in 2013 in Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.