Sachin Tendulkar opens the batting in ODIs for India for first time on Mar 27, 1994: Watch

March 27, 1994 was the day when the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar opened the Indian ODI innings for the first time. Tendulkar went on to become one of the best batsmen in the world and despite his ODI retirement in 2012, most of his records still stand till this day. India were 0-1 down in the away series when Tendulkar came out to bat in the second ODI. India ended up winning the match by seven wickets.

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Sachin Tendulkar records: The beginning of a legendary innings

If you look at Sachin Tendulkar stats, most Sachin Tendulkar records were made when the Little Master was opening for India. Before this match in 1994, Tendulkar used to bat in the middle order but his potential wasn't entirely there to be seen in the shorter format of the game. Tendulkar. in his autobiography 'Playing It My Way', talked about how he believed that he could score well in the limited-overs format at the top of the innings through his aggressive approach.

Tendulkar went to then-captain Mohammad Azharuddin and team manager Ajit Wadekar and pleaded with them to allow him to open the Indian innings. Azharuddin gave him the chance to replace Navjot Singh Sidhu at the top and Tendulkar made the most of it. Scoring 82 out of 49 balls at an astonishing strike-rate of 167.34, Tendulkar helped India get a confident victory and level the series.

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Here are the highlights from Tendulkar's innings.

(Video Credit: YouTube/Anirudh Kalra Cricket)

Sachin Tendulkar Stats: A look at the Sachin Tendulkar records

The Sachin Tendulkar stats for the opening slot show how the Master Blaster aced his opportunities at the top. Tendulkar scored 15,310 runs at the top of the order and became a force to reckon with in the 90s and the 2000s. Some other Sachin Tendulkar records are that he became the first-ever double-centurion in ODI cricket and went on to score 49 centuries in the format. Tendulkar has scored a total of 18,426 runs in ODI cricket.

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Sachin Tendulkar donation for COVID-19

According to a report by a leading Indian publication, it has now been revealed that Sachin Tendulkar made a massive donation worth ₹50 lakh (split in halves) to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister's relief funds. This Sachin Tendulkar donation will definitely go a long way in helping the government curb the spreading of the rampant coronavirus. India's current coronavirus cases count stands at 745 according to Johns Hopkins University.

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