Witnessing a century is one of the best things in ODI cricket but there are hardly any matches where a team has two or more centurions. Batters have been long responsible for pulling crowds into stadiums. Centuries or even some half-centuries have played a very important part in getting people excited. With the ODI World Cup approaching, we take a look at ODI matches where most hundreds were scored.
Most hundreds in ODI match
There have been two instances where four hundred have been scored in a match. The first time the record was made was in 1998 during a match between Pakistan and Australia. In 2013, Australia was once again involved in a match where four hundreds were scored. This time the match was against Pakistan’s arch-rivals, India. Here is a look at both of those matches.
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Pakistan vs Australia, 1998
1st innings- Pakistan’s batting
Pakistani skipper, Aamer Sohail after winning the toss decided to bat first at Lahore. Opening the innings, Sohail and Asif Mahmood got off to a rocky start as Glenn McGrath dismissed Mahmood for a four-ball duck on the very first delivery of his second over. Ijaz Ahmed joined Sohail at the crease and the duo shared a 43-run stand for the second wicket. The skipper was then dismissed by left-arm pacer, Brendon Julian. Saleem Malik was then run out by Ricky Ponting after scoring just two runs in 14 balls. After Malik’s wicket, Mohammad Yousuf joined Ijaz Ahmed at the crease.
Both Ijaz and Yousuf went on to score centuries and the duo shared a 162-run stand for the fourth wicket. Ijaz Ahmed made 111 runs in 109 balls hitting 12 fours and 1 six before he was bowled by the left-arm spin of Darren Lehmann. After sharing a half-century stand with Shahid Afridi, Yousuf was dismissed by Julian. Afridi played a great cameo scoring 40 runs in just 26 balls. Wasim Akram too scored 13 runs in 7 balls. Both Akram and Afridi were run out by Ricky Ponting. Pakistan scored 315 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the first innings. Australia used eight bowlers amongst whom, McGrath and Julian picked up two wickets each while Lehmann took a single wicket.
2nd innings- Australia’s batting
Australia had a monumental task ahead of them as they began their chase of 316 runs. Mark Waugh opening the batting with Gilchrist was the first batter to be dismissed. Waugh scored 13 runs in 18 balls before Wasim Akram got him out. Ricky Ponting after inflicting three runouts in the first innings walked in at number three. Gilchrist and Ponting shared a 197-run stand as both of them scored centuries. Gilchrist scored 103 runs in 104 balls and was dismissed by the left-arm spin of Sohail. Ponting on the other hand remained not out and steered the visitors to victory. The Australians were heavily assisted by the Pakistani bowlers who gave away 32 extras. They won the match by 6 wickets with seven balls remaining. Pakistan used 7 bowlers amongst whom Wasim Akram, Aamer Sohail, Saleem Malik and Saqlain Mushtaq were the only wicket-takers. Interestingly, a total of 15 bowlers were used in the match which is amazingly not the highest amount of bowlers used in an ODI match. To find out more about that historic record read the below article.
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India vs Australia, 2013
1st innings- Australia’s batting
MS Dhoni after winning the toss elected to bowl first in Nagpur. In just the 7th over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Phillip Hughes for 13 runs in 22 balls. Aaron Finch was dismissed soon after the powerplay by Ravichandran Ashwin. Australia took control of the game after the two quick wickets. Shane Watson and Australian skipper, George Bailey scored centuries. The duo shared a 168-run partnership for the third wicket. Watson scored 102 runs in 94 balls hitting 13 fours and 3 sixes. Watson was dismissed by Mohammed Shami. Glenn Maxwell was dismissed soon after Watson’s wicket. Bailey then shared a 120-run stand with Adam Voges. He was dismissed in the final over after 156 runs in 114 balls including 13 fours and 6 sixes. Voges remained not out and scored 44 runs in 38 balls. Australia scored 350 runs in their 50 overs.
For India, Bhuvneshwar was the most economical bowler conceding only 42 runs in his overs as well as picking up the wicket of Hughes. Ashwin and Jadeja took two wickets each and conceded under 7 runs per over. Amit Mishra was the most costly bowler for India. The veteran leg-spinner conceded 78 runs in his 10 overs.
2nd innings- India’s batting
India started on a great note chasing 351 runs. Seasoned openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan shared a 178-run stand for the opening wicket. Rohit was dismissed by Aaron Finch after scoring 79 runs in 89 balls. Shikhar Dhawan scored a century but it was Virat Kohli who stole the show and proved why he is called the chase-master. Virat scored his century in just 61 balls as he took the attack to the Australian bowlers. Dhawan was then bowled by James Faulkner after making 100 runs in 102 balls. Virat remained not out and sealed the victory for India with six wickets and three balls remaining.
For Australia, Mitchell Johnson picked up two wickets while Faulkner and Finch picked up one wicket each. The most economical bowler was Finch as he conceded just 20 runs in his four overs. Watson was the most expensive bowler as the all-rounder conceded 51 runs in just six overs.
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