On this day (March 18) eight years ago, Sachin Tendulkar played his last One-Day International (ODI) match and brought curtains to an illustrious career. The occasion of the India vs Pakistan match in 2012 Asia Cup at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka which went down to the wire. In a must-win game for the Men in Blue, the Misbah-ul-Haq led side scored 330 in the first innings courtesy centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed. With the likes of Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal  being in Pakistan bowling line-up, chances of India’s victory were looking very thin. Also, in-form opener Gautam Gambhir departed after bagging a duck. However, Sachin showcased his blitzes in his last ODI outing and, along with rising-sensation Virat Kohli, brought Indian innings back on track. On This Day: When Sachin Tendulkar Scored His First Runs in ODIs vs New Zealand in 1990.

Fresh from his much-awaited 100th international century, Tendulkar continued his brilliant run and attacked the opposition bowlers from the outset. Be it pace or spin, the right-handed batsman went all guns blazing against every bowler. He scored a quick-fire century and set a great platform for the other batsmen. The highest run-scorer in International cricket finally departed after scoring 52 off 48 balls. After that, the baton of the innings and India’s batting was passed to Virat Kohli and he didn’t disappoint.

ICC's Post:

After making a steady start, the youngster unleashed an absolute carnage in the latter half of his knock and scored for fun and scored 183 runs off mere 148 balls, Kohli’s highest ODI score to date. Riding on his efforts, India chased down the humongous total and registered a six-wicket victory.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 18, 2020 12:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).