Sachin Tendulkar's five greatest innings: from a maiden Test century at 17 to the first ever ODI double-hundred Arguably Tendulkar's finest ever innings, the Little Master gained the respect of everyone in Australia with this dogged innings. On one of the quickest wickets in the world Tendulkar refused to bow down to Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes as wickets tumbled around him. The ninth wicket to fall, Tendulkar had faced 161 balls for his 114, in a team total that saw only three other batsmen score above 11. 169, South Africa v India, Cape Town, 1997 Going in to bat after South Africa had racked up a huge first innings total of 529 for seven, India quickly found themselves in deep trouble at 58 for five. Again it fell to Tendulkar to rescue the situation, which he did by combining with Mohammad Azharuddin in a stand of 202 to haul India past the follow-on mark. It was always going to need something special to get rid of him, and Adam Bacher duly obliged with a quite unbelievable catch in the deep. 241 not out, Australia v India, Sydney, 2004 Tendulkar's highest Test score was 248 not out against Bangladesh but the finest of his six double centuries came against Australia in 2004. Batting first, Tendulkar's innings straddled the opening three days before the tourists finally declared on 705 for seven. Despite his innings, and a quickfire second innings 60 not out to set the Aussies a victory target, India had to settle for the draw. 200 not out, India v South Africa, Gwalior, 2010 The leading runscorer in one-day international cricket, it was fitting that Tendulkar became the first batsman to score a double hundred in one innings. Opening the batting in a day-night match, Tendulkar took 90 balls for his first century before smashing his second off just 57. A single with four deliveries remaining saw Tendulkar pass the double-hundred milestone and send the adoring Indian fans wild.