This day, that year: Sachin Tendulkar gave ODI cricket its 'four minute mile' moment with majestic 200

"First man on the planet to get a 200 and it is the Superman from India -- Sachin Tendulkar -- 200 from 147. Take a bow master."

The words from Ravi Shastri, exclaimed on February 24, 2010, are a part of cricketing folklore as Tendulkar dabbed a wide ball to point to scamper through for a single, which perhaps is the most historic one run in ODI cricket.

Tendulkar had etched his name in history yet again at Gwalior. It had taken 39 years and 2,962 ODI matches for a batter to slam a double century in a men's ODI.

The flawless knock, laced with 25 fours and three sixes, came against an attack that boasted of Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Charl Langeveldt and Jacques Kallis.

Tendulkar treated his fans to a flurry of trademark backfoot punches, straight drives, flicks and even big slogs as he was merciless against both pacers and spinners alike.

For 20 years, the opener was used to the chants of "Sachin...Sachin" reverberate the stands, and it was no different on that day as he continued to shatter records as if to reiterate that he is the greatest to hold the bat in the game of cricket.

The mercurial effort enabled India to 401/3 even as the 'Master Blaster' played only nine balls in the last nine overs when captain MS Dhoni butchered the visitors with a quickfire half-century of his own. India comfortably levelled the series and went on to clinch the final match by a single run.

However, this knock was bigger than the context of just a bilateral series.

Tendulkar had broken a 13-year-old world record held by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and only matched later by Charles Coventry for the highest ODI score at the time, which was 194.

The Indian great himself had come close earlier with his famous knocks of 186 not out against New Zealand in 1999 and much impactful, yet heartbreaking 175 against Australia as India fell short by just three runs in 2009.

The day marked yet another feather in the cap for the legend, who holds the record for most runs in both Tests and ODIs even close to 13 years since he called quits to his 24-year-old long illustrious career.

The 'Four minute mile' moment for ODI cricket

Tendulkar, 36 years old at the time, paved way to a series of double centuries in ODI cricket through the 2010s and the following decade.

It was similar to the popular 'four minute mile' barrier. It was deemed physically impossible for a man to run a mile within four minutes, but the perception was shattered when Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4.

After the record run, 10 more runners had breached the four-minute barrier in just the next two and half years.

Similarly, it took close to 3,000 ODIs for the first man to breach the 200-mark in ODIs, but only two years later Virendra Sehwag breached the mark again.

A total of 12 double centuries have been scored in the format since, with the latest being Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka in 2024. It is astonishing that five Indians, including Tendulkar and Sehwag have crossed the milestone and Rohit Sharma alone has done it thrice.

In a stunning co-incidence, Chris Gayle became the first batter to slam a double ton in ODI World Cup on the same day in 2015. Martin Guptill and Glenn Maxwell are the only others to have achieved the feat in cricket's most coveted tournament.