Is Sachin Tendulkar both the youngest and oldest Test and ODI centurion for India?
Sachin Tendulkar was only 17 (plus 112 days) when he made his first Test century, against England at Old Trafford in 1990. He was, by nearly three years from Kapil Dev, India's youngest Test centurion. In fact, Tendulkar made five hundreds before his 20th birthday, and no other Indian has made one. His last Test century came in January 2011, when he was aged 37 years and 255 days. Three Indians have been older when they reached three figures in a Test: Rahul Dravid scored seven hundreds at a greater age, the last in November 2011 when two months short of his 39th birthday, while Vinoo Mankad made two - both double-centuries - against New Zealand in 1955-56 when he was 38. But the oldest Indian centurion is Vijay Merchant, who was 22 days past his 40th birthday when he scored 154 against England in Delhi in 1951-52, in what turned out to be his final Test.
It's the other way round in one-day internationals. In these, Tendulkar is the oldest to make a hundred for India: that elusive 100th international hundred, his 114 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in March 2012, came up when he was aged 38 years and 327 days - around seven months older than Sunil Gavaskar when he made 103 not out (his only ODI century) against New Zealand in Nagpur during the 1987 World Cup. Tendulkar was 21 years 138 days old when he made his first ODI hundred, in September 1994. Three Indians have reached three figures when younger. Yuvraj Singh was aged 21 years and 120 days when he made an unbeaten 102 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in April 2003, while Virat Kohli made two centuries in 2009-10, not long after turning 21. But the youngest of all for India remains Vinod Kambli, whose 100 not out against England in Jaipur in January 1993 was scored on his 21st birthday.
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