It was the 1996 World Cup when Sir Don Bradman was first impressed by a young Sachin Tendulkar. Winning Bradman's attention wasn't an easy job, as a matter of fact, the man himself retired with a batting average of 99.94 - an unbreakable stat in sports history. For the next five years, he would watch every Tendulkar knock. He rated Tendulkar the best in the world and went on record to say that he felt he was looking at a mirror image of himself whenever he watched Tendulkar bat. That led to the beginning of comparisons that still continue.
Bradman would invite Tendulkar on his 90th birthday, in 1998, when the latter was 25-year-old and was at his peak. It's foolish and pure fandom to compare any mortal batsman with Bradman, but the very fact that Tendulkar and Bradman were being spoken in a similar bracket was a testimony to Tendulkar's greatness with the bat.
Now, let's get straight to this date - August 14.
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The first day of the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England commenced at The Oval, London on August 14, 1948. Bradman's Invincibles were already 3-0 up. But this Test was special. It would be the last of Bradman's illustrious career. He had lost eight years of his prime to the Second World War but still notched up unbelievable numbers.
England elected to bat before Ray Lindwall tore apart the line-up, bundling the hosts for 52. Australia's openers started well. After batting for two hours, Sid Barnes fell for 61, and The scorecard read 117 for 1, Australia lead by 65 runs. Not even the most ardent of English fans expected the battered hosts to bat again, which meant this was Bradman's last innings.
Just before the clock struck six, Bradman walked out to bat amidst applause from the crowd. The English team took their caps off to honour the little man of gigantic stature.
Till this day, he had batted in 79 Test innings, amassing 6,996 runs at an average of 101.39. All he needed was four runs to reach the 7,000-run milestone and maintain the three-figure average. Eric Hollies deceived Bradman with a googly as the champion fell for a second-ball duck. This was the day when the sporting legend batted for the last time in international cricket.
The career of the greatest cricketer ended with an average of 99.94.
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Forty-two years later (August 14, 1990), in another venue in England, at Old Trafford, Manchester, Tendulkar reached a momentous occasion. The then 17-year-old joined his skipper Mohammad Azharuddin on the final day with the score on 109 for four. Dileep Vengsarkar was cleaned up by Chris Lewis. England sniffed a series win here. India had to bat through to save the Test or get to 408 to win it.
Azhar and Tendulkar had registered a 112-run stand in the first innings. Indian fans expected the same. Azhar fell for 11 and India had lost half its side for 127.
Tendulkar was destined for greatness. There was a lot of hype over his talent. Be it sport or otherwise, talent, at most can get you to the surface. What you do after that is your determination, hard work and application - three pillars that would go on to later define Tendulkar's legacy.
Tendulkar would go on to attack the English bowlers, playing to his strength of being an aggressive batter. He not only saved the Test but also brought up his first international hundred. Over the next 22 years, he would add another 99 to the list, becoming the only cricketer with 100 international centuries.
"I scored that 100 on August 14 and next day was our Independence Day, so it was special. The headline was different and that hundred at least kept the series alive till next Test at the Oval," Tendulkar told PTI on the eve of the 30th anniversary of his first ton. "The art of saving a Test match was a new experience for me".
Tendulkar had done it before in his short career. In Sialkot, during his debut series against Pakistan, a bouncer from Waqar Younis had floored him with a bloody nose. He was only 16. He continued in a blood-soaked jersey. "In Sialkot where I got hit and scored 57, we saved that Test match, too, from 38 for 4. Waqar's bouncer and playing through pain defined me. After those kind of hits you are either stronger or you are nowhere to be seen," Tendulkar added.
His maiden hundred propelled Tendulkar's average almost 10 points to almost 43. Twenty-three seasons later, he would retire from the sport with an average of 53.78 and most batting records in his kitty.
Just like cricket hasn't seen a better batsman than Bradman; similarly, the sport hasn't seen a bigger icon than Tendulkar. And thus, August 14 holds a special place in cricketing annals.
