Tendulkar created history by scoring a double century in Gwalior 12 years ago: now the ball has been gifted

- Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring the first double century in the history of one-day international cricket

New delhi date. 20 September 2022, Tuesday

The ball with which great batsman Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double century in One Day International history 12 years ago in Gwalior has been gifted to him in Indore. An official of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) gave this information on Monday. It may be mentioned that Tendulkar is currently in Indore for the T-20 matches of the 'Road Safety World Series Tournament'. The competition has a fast-paced format and matches are played between teams from different countries equipped with ex-international cricketers. Tendulkar is leading 'India Legends' in it.

MPCA Chief Curator Samandar Singh Chauhan said that Tendulkar reached the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday for practice. Chauhan went to him with the ball attached to the century record he made in Gwalior and requested an autograph on it. Chauhan said, 'Tendulkar got excited after seeing this ball. He asked me, can you give me this ball as a gift? I immediately agreed because this was a lucky thing for me. Now this ball has reached its rightful owner.'

Chauhan said that after the completion of the ODI match played between India and South Africa 12 years ago in Gwalior, he kept the ball associated with Tendulkar's double century record as part of a souvenir.

Curator Chauhan, who has more than 4 decades of experience in pitch preparation, said that Tendulkar registered this record on the pitch prepared by him at the Captain Rup Singh Stadium in Gwalior. Notably, Tendulkar scored 25 fours and 3 sixes off 147 balls in an unbeaten innings of 200 runs against South Africa on 24 February 2010 in Gwalior. It was the first time any player scored a double century in this format of international cricket. In this match, India won against South Africa by a huge margin of 153 runs. Tendulkar was declared 'Player of the Match' in this match.