On This Day: Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden ODI Ton, and started a Run-Scoring Spree

Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps the greatest cricketer of all time, had his share of struggles. In the ODI format, Sachin's gigantic numbers may captivate one's mind, but it was not smooth sailing for him in the early days.

Despite making his ODI debut back in 1989, he went almost his first five years without a three-figure score. And the shackles were broken on this day, some 32 years ago.

Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden 100 Today

On September 9, 1994, a 21-year-old Sachin Tendulkar finally ended one of the most surprising droughts of his young international career. Playing against Australia at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Tendulkar smashed his maiden ODI century, scoring a composed 110 off 130 balls in the third match of the Singer World Series.

It had taken Tendulkar 79 ODIs and 76 innings to reach his first three-figure score. Before that breakthrough, he had accumulated 2,126 runs at an average of 32.70, including 17 fifties but no hundreds.

Tendulkar's journey to the century was particularly significant because he had only recently been promoted to the top of India's batting order.

Earlier in 1994, he had opened against New Zealand in Auckland and announced himself spectacularly with 82 off just 49 balls. The move gave him more opportunity to influence games, and it would eventually become one of the defining decisions of his career.

Against Australia, Tendulkar began aggressively before settling into a controlled innings. He reached his half-century in 43 balls and continued building partnerships before reaching three figures with a square cut off Shane Warne. He was eventually dismissed for 110 by Craig McDermott, but India posted 246/8 and went on to defeat Australia by 31 runs.

More importantly, the century appeared to unlock another level in Tendulkar's ODI batting.

How Sachin Tendulkar transformed after 1st ODI Ton

After his maiden hundred, his career average rose dramatically. He went on to score 16,300-plus additional ODI runs and 48 more centuries, averaging around 47.10 after that landmark innings.

The transformation was not merely statistical. Tendulkar became more consistent, more aggressive and increasingly dominant at the top of the order. Between 1994 and 2000 alone, he scored 8,220 ODI runs at an average of 45.66 and struck 27 centuries.

Interestingly, after racking up his first ODI ton, Tendulkar managed to score six centuries more in his next 40 ODI innings. In 1995 and 1996, the next two years kickstarted his emergence, as he scored 7 centuries in total, with an overall average of 50.12 in these two years.

Eventually, the boy who had waited so long for his first ODI hundred became the format's most prolific century-maker. Tendulkar finished his ODI career with 18,426 runs and 49 centuries, records that formed a huge part of his legacy as one of cricket's greatest-ever batters.

The Colombo hundred, therefore, was more than just another milestone. It marked the beginning of Tendulkar's transformation from a prodigiously talented youngster into the Master Blaster who would redefine ODI batting.