Sachin Tendulkar, the 'Fundulkar': celebrating the hundredth hundred

In March 2012, Sachin Tendulkar did something no cricketer had ever done: he scored his 100th international century. The milestone hundred came against Bangladesh in Dhaka on March 16, in an Asia Cup match — ending a year-long wait that had become a national obsession, with every innings dissected and every dismissal mourned.

Then, on April 24, the little master turned 39. Fans — never short of wordplay where Tendulkar is concerned — had their fun with the double milestone, "Fundulkar" among the affectionate puns marking the man who had turned centuries into a statistical art form.

The numbers remain staggering even a decade on: 100 international hundreds (51 in Tests, 49 in ODIs), 34,000-plus international runs, a career spanning from his 1989 debut as a 16-year-old to his 2013 retirement. The hundredth hundred itself was not among his greatest innings — India lost the Dhaka match, and purists noted the century came slowly — but as a career monument it was unmatched.

2012 was twilight for Tendulkar the player — he would retire from ODIs that December and from all cricket the following November — but it was peak Tendulkar the institution. A billion people had grown up measuring time in his cover drives.

This item was updated during our 2026 editorial audit: the original body was placeholder filler and has been replaced with the documented milestones.

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