On April 15, 2011 - 'God of Cricket' - Sachin Tendulkar etched another glorious chapter to his historic cricketing journey when he turned back the clock and dominated the shorter format like a 20-year-old. In the twilight of his career, Tendulkar chose the grandest stage - an Indian Premier League match to gave his fans around the globe a glimpse of his mastery in a format often associated with young legs and fearless hearts.
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During an IPL match between Mumbai Indians and now-defunct franchise Kochi Tuskers, Tendulkar scored his maiden and only T20 hundred on his home-turf. In the first IPL game at the refurbished Wankhede Stadium where Dhoni's devils had lifted the coveted World Cup trophy just 13 days before, the 38-year-old Tendulkar became the first IPL captain to score a hundred.
Tendulkar reached the three-figure landmark in 66 balls and helped his side Mumbai Indians to post a stiff total of 182/2 in their stipulated 20 overs against Kochi Tuskers. Earlier, Kochi won the toss and asked MI to bat first. The hosts got off to a decent start as Davy Jacobs and Tendulkar built a 61-run partnership for the opening wicket. In the ninth over, Jacobs departed after scoring 12 runs. Ambati Rayudu joined Tendulkar in the middle and scripted a 116-run partnership for the second wicket. The former played a swashbuckling knock of 53 off 33 balls, including four sixes and three fours. At the other end, Tendulkar held the fort calmly and ensured that there was no further slip-ups. He scored 45 runs from the last five overs and proved his credentials in the shorter format. However, Kochi Tuskers batsmen - Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene had other plans as they spoiled Tendulkar's party. Chasing 183, McCullum and Jayawardene provided Kochi a solid start as they put up an opening partnership of 128 runs. McCullum scored 81 runs while Jayawardene amassed 56 runs and helped the side to reach the target with six balls remaining. Kochi won the match by eight wickets. Ravindra Jadeja and Brad Hodge remained unbeaten on 26 and 11 runs, respectively. Tendulkar scored 2,334 runs at an average of 34.83 in his IPL career, including 13 fifties and a hundred. He was the highest scorer in the 2010 IPL edition.