Exclusive : Sachin's 48 Test tons

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Year 1996

9th century: In what turned out to be a loss for Team India, Sachin scored 122 runs playing against England on a swinging Edgbaston Cricket Ground pitch in Birmingham on June 8, 1996.

10th century: Sachin very soon hit another ton, his tenth till now and helped India draw the match against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on July 5, 1996. He had scored 177 runs.

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Year 1997

11th century: By now Sachin was leading Team India from the front and was setting examples for everybody else. With the captaincy feather on his cap, he scored 169 runs against the Proteas at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on January 4, 1997.

12th century: Sachin added another century to his Test statistics when he hit 143 runs against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 3, 1997. This was his second century as Team India's captain.

13th century: Just a week after scoring his 12th hundred, Sachin scored his 13th. It again came against Sri Lanka and was his first back to back centuries. Hosted by the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, the match ended in a draw.

14th century: Scoring his fourth century of the year, Sachin again missed out on reaching the 150 run mark when he got out after scoring 148 runs at his homeground Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on December 4, 1997 playing against the Lankans. The match ended in a draw.

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Year 1998

15th century: At a time when Sachin was considered to be in the prime of his career, he scored an unbeaten 155 against Australia on March 9, at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. His contribution stole the match away from the visiting Aussies.

16th century: Sachin kept ripping the Aussie bowling attack to shreds and amassed 177 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on March 26, 1998.

17th century: His 3rd century of the year came when he managed to get 113 runs against hosts New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on December 29, 1998. Unfortunately, India again lost the match.

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Year 1999

18th century: Sachin would probably never forget January 31, 1999 as he finally managed to get a Test century against Pakistan on that day. He scored 136 runs in the second innings at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

19th century: Hitting tons against Lankans was a common phenomenon for Sachin. Scoring his 6th triple-figure-score against them Sachin hit an unbeaten 124 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on February 28, 1999.

20th century: Back in his second captaincy stint, Sachin managed to score another century again staying unbeaten at 126 runs. Played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, this match against New Zealand also ended in a draw.

21st century: It was a big celebration for the Master Blaster as for the first time in his career he managed to hit a double ton scoring 217 runs at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera again against New Zealand on October 30, 1999.

22nd century: With this century, Sachin completed 5 Test centuries in a single calender year. He made 116 runs against Australia on December 28, 1999 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.

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Year 2000

23rd century: What was turning out to be a rather quiet year for Sachin turned completely around when he scored 122 runs against Zimbabwe at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in New Delhi on November 21, 2000. India went on to register a win in that match.

24th century: Just five days later, Sachin scored a double ton for the second time in his career. Staying unbeaten at 201, India drew the match playing against Zimbabwe at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur.