Tendulkar hit another marvellous century to lead India to victory against the Kiwis. This was his 42nd century in 157 matches, more than one every 4 matches. This tally includes four double-centuries, with an unbeaten 248 being his highest score. With this 43 ODI tons, Tendulkar is just 15 short of 100 international centuries.
Let us take a look at Tendulkar’s centuries. He has made the most centuries against Australia (10) with 7 centuries against Sri Lanka. Against the rest, he has made 3-4 centuries each, with Pakistan bringing up the rear with 2 centuries. The Pakistan count is not a surprise as India has played very few Tests against Pakistan during Tendulkar’s career. With the Mumbai attacks, he is unlikely to play many/any and increase his record against them.
Tendulkar’s best year was 1999 when he scored 5 centuries against four countries. His drought years were 1991, 1995, 2003 and 2006.
Chennai has been Tendulkar’s favorite ground with 5 centuries followed by Nagpur with 4. He has also hit 4 centuries in Colombo, but at different grounds. Tendulkar also has 3 centuries in Sydney, although no one of them resulted in an Indian victory.
Most of Tendulkar’s centuries have been relatively sedate ones. 24 of his centuries have been made without a single six. The maximum he has hit has been 4 sixes in his unbeaten 155 against Australia in Chennai, 1998. Only twice has he went past a strike rate of 80 while hitting a century. The most 4′s Tendulkar has hit is 35 in that unbeaten 248.
How many more centuries could Tendulkar make? On an average (mean, median and mode), Tendulkar is most likely to hit two centuries per year. If we eliminate the out-of-form years, Tendulkar is likely to make between 2-3 centuries. If Tendulkar retires after the 2011 World Cup, he is likely to hit around 5 to 7 tons. An upper limit (based on his best years) would be 10 centuries. I would assume that if Tendulkar is close to his 5oth century, he will stay back to complete that unique record, probably foregoing playing in the ODI team.