Sachin Tendulkar succumbed to the 'Nervous Nineties Syndrome' for a record 16th time in his career, in the fourth One-Day International against Pakistan in Gwalior on Thursday night.
For the sixth time this year, and second in the ongoing series, he was out in the nineties.
Three runs shy of his 42nd ODI century, the Mumbai batsman dragged an Umar Gul delivery onto his stumps and departed for 97.
It was sixth time in his last 19 outings that he fell in the nineties. On three of those occasions he was short by just one run.
Incidentally, it was Gul who denied him a century in Mohali. He dismissed him for 99 in the second ODI there.
Tendulkar, with 78 centuries to his name in both forms of the game, faced a similar problem at the start of his one-day career and it took him 79 matches to score his first century, which came almost after five years since the start of his career. But once he scored his first ton -- against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo in the Singer World series the centuries kept comingl.
His last century was a 100 not out against the West Indies in January this year at Vadodara.
In successive matches against South Africa in Ireland in June, Tendulkar was out in the 90s. First he scored 99 and then 93 in the Future Cup series in Belfast.
A century eluded him again in the NatWest Series against England where he twice fell in the 90s. He scored 99 in Bristol and then 94 at Lord's. In between, he scored two fifties.
