Nowadays, despite being retired, if you were to say to a cricket fan, "Hey, did you know Tendulkar scored a half century?"; the fan will most likely respond with, "Yeah, so, what else is new?" However, the one he scored against Pakistan in 1989 was special because he scored it at the tender age of 16.
In scoring the 50 (57 to be more accurate), he became the youngest to do so. He scored his 57 against a Pakistan bowling attack that consisted of: Wasim Akram; Waqar Younis and Imran Khan. On his debut tour, the 16-year-old Tendulkar showed his promise with two half-centuries at Faisalabad and Sialkot - the second of which was particularly impressive.
Upon first experience, former captain, Akram, said, "I recall when Sachin first came to Pakistan - I was 21 and, like Waqar, I had real pace. I remember reading a newspaper report saying a young batting sensation was going to tour Pakistan with India, that he had broken schoolboy records with Vinod Kambli."
"I remember thinking it didn't matter how good he was, he was only 16. International cricket is a different ball game to schoolboy cricket. The first time I saw him he looked 14 and I spoke with Waqar and we knew what we were going to do - and it worked because in the first Test he got just 15."
"The fourth Test was played on a lush green track and in the second innings I bowled Sachin a bouncer which hit him on the chin and opened up some cuts. I thought to myself that it wouldn't be too long before we got him out but he stayed there and got 50. His technique stood out, his body was behind the ball and from then on myself and Waqar realised he was something special."
In making his debut, he became the youngest Indian to do so at 16 years and 205 days. He would later become the youngest Indian, at 16 years and 238 days, to make his ODI debut.
The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand, in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in Tests. He was dismissed without scoring in one of the two ODI games he played in and scored 36 in the other.
On a 1990 tour to England, on 14 August, he became the second-youngest cricketer to score a Test century (Mushtaq Mohammad of Pakistan was the youngest) as he made 119 not out in the second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Wisden described his innings as, "a disciplined display of immense maturity" and also wrote, "He looked the embodiment of India's famous opener, [Sunil] Gavaskar and indeed was wearing a pair of his pads. While he displayed a full repertoire of strokes in compiling his maiden Test hundred, most remarkable were his off-side shots from the back foot. Though only 5ft 5inches tall, he was still able to control without difficulty short deliveries from the English pacemen."
Tendulkar's reputation grew during the 1991–92 tour of Australia held before the 1992 Cricket World Cup. During the tour, he scored an unbeaten 148 in the third Test at Sydney, making him the youngest batsman to score a century in Australia. He then scored 114 on a fast, bouncing pitch in the final Test at Perth against a pace attack from: Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott. Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that, "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB."
Over the years, Tendulkar has forged his name in history as the 'greatest batter of all time.'
Tendulkar also served as captain of the Indian cricket team. This was one aspect that Tendulkar didn't excel at. Tendulkar became captain in 1996 but by 1997, the team was performing poorly. Discussing Tendulkar's first term as captain, Azharuddin was credited with saying, "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny!" (Hindi: "Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!").
Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar won the player of the series award, as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.
Tendulkar said bon voyage to international cricket in 2013 and to date, he remains the highest run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs. He also has the record for registering most international centuries (100). He amassed 34 357 runs across all formats. To date, this is 6 341 runs ahead of the second-placed former Sri Lanka cricketer, Kumar Sangakkara.
In 2019, Tendulkar became the sixth Indian to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. He immediately became the country's favourite cricketer after his debut.
Sachin Tendulkar career stats: https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/sachin-tendulkar-35320/bowling-batting-stats
Tendulkar was definitely an awesome player. Fans who were able to see him play were lucky. He was a highly talented player. It was made clear early on that no one could underestimate him. He was destined for greatness right from the get-go. I can't imagine anyone matching his figures and/or his talent and skills. He's essentially a one of a kind type of player.