Which is the only Test match in which Sachin Tendulkar did not score a single run? (25th May 2001)

For a batsman to score at least one run in every Test of his career does not sound like a difficult task. Yet many of the top names in the game have not quite succeeded in doing so. Even Don Bradman. The Don made no runs against England at the Oval in 1938; of course it was only because he injured himself while bowling and was unable to bat in either innings. Alec Stewart holds the little known record of having played in the most number of Tests with at least one run collected from each of them. In a career spanning 109 Tests, his worst performance came against New Zealand in 1999 when he made 0 and 1.

Indeed Stewart's record could well have been Sunil Gavaskar's. The little master played 125 Tests without bagging a pair but the same misfortune that befell Bradman also struck him down, uncannily again at the Oval, in 1982 when Sunny injured himself in the field and could not bat. Sachin Tendulkar too fails to make the cut. Tendulkar has got off the starting blocks in 81 of his 82 Tests. The exception was against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1992/93 when he was caught and bowled for a duck by John Traicos in the first innings. Unfortunately India never did get to bat a second time, which is why Tendulkar did not trouble the scorers.

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