#OTD in 2002: Trio of Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly hit centuries in the same innings of a Test match

Sachin celebrating his century (PC: Twitter)

On this day in 2002, the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly hit a century in the same innings of a red-ball fixture at Leeds. It was the only instance of them reaching three figures simultaneously in a single innings. 

India ride on the centuries of batting maestros to post a gigantic lead

Opting to bat first, opener Virender Sehwag (8) could not provide a notable contribution. However, Sanjay Bangar (68) and Dravid added 170 runs for the second wicket to exude confidence to the middle-order. 

Arriving at number four, Tendulkar was at his absolute best with his lavish shots all around the park to steer the team at a brisk rate. On the other end, Dravid displayed his usual composure to score 148 off 307 balls. 

The highlight of Ganguly's knock of 128 was his attacking approach against spinner Ashley Giles. The then 29-year-old Tendulkar slammed 193 off 330 balls to help India declare on a total of 628/8. 

In response, England could score only 273, with the knocks of Michael Vaughan (61) and Alec Stewart (78). The ace spinner Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked three wickets each. 

India enforced a follow-on with a lead of 355 runs. 

England succumb to clinical Indian bowling unit

Following on, Rob Key (34) and Mark Butcher (42) were impressive to guide England in the right direction at the top-order. Then, skipper Nasser Hussain hit 110 off 194 balls to further ease the pressure for the hosts. 

Kumble took a total of seven wickets in the Test match (PC: Twitter)

However, apart from Stewart's 47, none of the English batters could be resilient enough against rampant spinner Kumble. 

India secured a victory by an innings and 46 runs, and Dravid was named Player of the Match. 

Read more: #OTD in 2015: Michael Clarke bid farewell to international cricket