Across cricket’s different formats, the significance of a century remains profound

On April 22, Abdul Waheed scored 124 runs for Saudi Arabia’s men’s cricket team in its victory against Qatar in Kathmandu. This was an impressive achievement.

The Saudi team has not played many one-day internationals. It has played more T20 internationals, where Waheed’s record has been modest. Scoring 100 runs, or a century, in a single innings, is the aspiration of most cricketers, a moment to be savored by the individual and applauded by onlookers.

The context and importance of a century varies. In Waheed’s case, it meant that a victory was achieved for the Saudi team in the Asia Premier Cup. Its importance acquired even greater significance because the team’s match against Nepal on April 24 was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The point gained meant that the winner of the final group stage match between Saudi Arabia and Oman would progress to the semifinals. Oman totaled a massive 366 in 50 overs. Waheed fell agonizingly short, on 95, of another international century, as his team responded bravely, but forlornly, with 294.

This week has also witnessed the 50th birthday of one of cricket’s greatest-ever players, Sachin Tendulkar. He is the only person to have scored 100 centuries in international matches, 51 of them being in Test matches, the most by any individual in the history of the game.

Nicknamed the “Little Master,” Tendulkar made his Test debut aged 16 and scored his first Test 100 aged 17. Many argue that he is the best batsman of all time, one blessed with superb anticipation, balance and timing, who scored runs in all conditions and parts of the world.

Even Sir Donald Bradman, with a Test batting average of 99.94, for which many judge him as the greatest, was impressed. Watching Tendulkar bat,