India, Jan. 13 -- February 24, 2010, is when Sachin Tendulkar became, in Ravi Shastri's immortal words, 'the first man on the planet to score a double century' in ODIs, but not many recall how 11 years prior to creating history in Gwalior, the Master Blaster registered his highest individual score in one-day internationals at the expense of a hapless New Zealand bowling attack. In a series often put on the back burner, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid scripted a piece of cricket history that remained unbeaten for the next 16 years.

In the fall of 1999, New Zealand landed in India for a full-fledged tour comprising three Tests and five ODIs. Under Tendulkar, India took the Test series 1-0 after surviving a scare in the first innings of the open...