Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 4th ODI: It was Afridi’s Day

 

Afridi single-handedly displayed an impregnable performance both with bat and bowl by winning the Pakistan Sri Lanka series played on the Arab soil. The 4^th ODI out of the five ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Sharjah was a treat to watch. After eight years of cricket drought at the Sharjah cricket ground, Pakistan again registered a memorable success over Sri Lanka which lost its last 7 wickets of just 19 runs. The game was almost in the hands of Sri Lanka but Afridi wrecked the lower batting order with a blend of googlies and legbreaks, successfully preyed five wickets for Pakistan. The juggling of Afridi perplexed the Sri Lankan batting where world class batsmen like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara were unable to withstand the artifice of Shahid Afridi.

Pakistan batted first, struggled early in the game with 6 wickets down on 97. Afridi came at seventh position and played a magnificent inning of 75 runs off 65 balls. It is the first time ever in ODI history that a player has secured a half century and took 5 wickets in one inning twice in his career. Before that this feat was registered 15 times but none of the cricketers has repeated their performance like Shahid Afridi did.

Humaira Asad

Top ten ODI centuries-World

A century in an ODI career is not only a big achievement in itself but it also tests the mettle of a player. One has to understand all the tactics and strategy of game play to reach that distinguished position. Sachin Tendulkar of India’s team is the one of the world class players who understands all the twists and turns of the ball on the pitch. His recent achievement of top century in 2010 is the proof of his love and competency as a dedicated and motivated ODI player. Here is the list of all top class ODI players with top ten centuries in their ODI career.

Player	Runs	Country	Year
Sachin Tendulkar	200*	India	24 Feb 2010
CK Coventry	194*	Zimbabwe	16 Aug 2009
Saeed Anwar	194	Pakistan	21 May 1997
IVA Richards	189*	West Indies	31 May 1984
ST Jayasuriya	189	Sri Lanka	29 Oct 2000
G Kirsten	188*	South Africa	16 Feb 1996
Sachin Tendulkar	186*	India	8 Nov 1999
MS Dhoni	183*	India	31 Oct 2005
SC Ganguly	183	India	26 May 1999
ML Hayden	181*	Australia	20 Feb 2007

Top ten centuries of Pakistan in ODIs

Pakistan’s cricket team is one of the finest One Day International teams in the world. It has the marvelous history of winning the World Cup of 1992 under captaincy of Imran Khan. Pakistan’s cricket team has a good mix of bowlers and batsmen. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were known to be the best swingers and fastest bowlers in the world. The batting line of Pakistan is also considered second to none. There are many centurions in the history of Pakistan’s cricket team. This article covers the top ten Pakistani players having ODI centuries in their careers.

Player	Score	Year
Saeed Anwar	194	21 May 1997
Imran Nazir	160	21 Mar 2007
Younis Khan	144	18 Jul 2004
Shoaib Malik	143	25 Jul 2004
Yousuf Youhana	141*	23 Nov 2002
Saeed Anwar	140	18 Jan 1998
Ijaz Ahmed	139*	2 Oct 1997
Inzamam-ul-Haq	137*	20 Apr 1994
Ijaz Ahmed	137	7 Apr 1999
Salman Butt	136	19 Apr 2008

Best ODI partnerships of South Africa’s team

ODI partnerships are thrilling and entertaining as they keep both the crowd and team excited during the match. Having the best partnerships in the record of a team is like bunch of fruit in basket. The South African cricket team is one of the finest teams in the cricket industry to have decent partnerships in ODIs. ODI partnerships are also considered important to place a high score for the chasing team. ODI partnerships are necessary to put pressure on the opposing team. Here is the list of all best partnerships of the South African team in ODI:

Playing partners	Runs	Year
Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs	235	9 Mar 2000
Daryll Cullinan and Jonty Rhodes	232	29 Sep 1996
Jean-Paul Duminy and AB de Villiers	219	22 Oct 2010
Gary Kirsten and Neil McKenzie	209	22 Oct 2001
Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Kallis	194	11 May 2005
Gary Kirsten and Mike Rindel	190	12 Jan 1995
Graeme Smith and Andrew Hall	189*	25 Nov 2005
Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs	187	12 Mar 2006
Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hudson	186	5 Mar 1996
Albie Morkel and AB de Villiers	186	26 Aug 2007

ICC rankings for ODI cricket before 2011 ICC World Cup

One day international is the format which is followed in cricket world cups too. The format comprises of 50 limited over in which teams have to perform at their best. Setting up a huge target in 50 over along with defending not only requires physical fitness but is also a mental challenge. The thrilling 50 over ODI pattern has produced many extraordinary performances out of teams and is still the most watched cricket event. In 2011, the ICC rankings for ODI cricket is being led by Australia who are ranked as number one team at the moment. The ICC ranking for ODI cricket before 2011 ICC World Cup is:

• Rank 1: Australia
• Rank 2: India
• Rank 3: Sri Lanka
• Rank 4: South Africa
• Rank 5: England
• Rank 6: Pakistan
• Rank 7: New Zealand
• Rank 8: West Indies
• Rank 9: Bangladesh
• Rank 10: Ireland
• Rank 11: Zimbabwe
• Rank 12: Netherlands
• Rank 13: Kenya

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