#ThisDayThatYear: Sachin's maiden opening stint, Kohli wins Mohali
On this day, two Indian legends defied all odds and gave a moment of glory to their respective generations. Tendulkar, who was a middle order batsman, was promoted to the opening slot by Mohammed Azharuddin in an ODI against New Zealand in 1994. 22 years later, Virat Kohli pulled off an awe-inspiring victory for India at Mohali. Here is more.
Having lost the first of the four-ODI series by 28 runs, India bundled out New Zealand for 142 in the second ODI. In what looked like a nominal chase, skipper Azharuddin decided to make a young Tendulkar open as regular opener Navjot Singh had a stiff neck. The Master Blaster scored a blistering 82 off 49, getting India home in 23.2 overs.
The courageous decision to make Tendulkar open not only proved fruitful for his career, but also transformed the dynamics of Indian cricket. The right-hander never looked back and went on to score a record 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs. Tendulkar also has 15,921 Test runs to his name from 200 matches. This tally also includes 100 international hundreds, a feat yet to be matched.
Sachin scored only 2,126 in first 78 ODIs sans a single century. His maiden century in the format came against Australia at Colombo in 1994. Notably, he has struck 45 out of his 49 ODI tons as an opener.
India were off to a shaky start in the World T20 2016, having lost the tournament opener to New Zealand. The Men in Blue then defeated arch-rivals Pakistan and followed it up with a stunning victory against Bangladesh. They were up against the mighty Aussies in a virtual quarter final. Australia looked in commanding position during the match, but Virat Kohli had other plans.
Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson propelled Australia to 160/6 after India disarrayed them in the middle overs. However, the Indian openers departed early on during the chase. A couple of more wickets drew Australia closer to victory as the match progressed. With 67 required off 36 balls, Virat Kohli paired up with MS Dhoni and finished a phenomenal chase in the final over.
