ODI Tons In 60 Deliveries Or Less

With birthday boy Sanath Jayasuriya racing to the sixth fastest ton in the history of ODI cricket on Monday, we look at his and the five other occasions blitzkrieg batsmen have smashed sub 60-delivery tons...

Responsible: Shahid Afridi
Date: 04/10/1996
Site Of The Carnage: Nairobi
Deliveries: 37
Unlucky Opposition: Sri Lanka

Barely able to sprout facial hair and very short on international experience, the then 16-year-old rookie strode into a batting order that included moustached greats like Saleem Malik, Ijaz Ahmed and Rameez Raja.

With the trio of stalwarts unable to do the job, it was Afridi who stepped up to the plate in his very first international knock. 11 hefty sixes and the obligatory half a dozen fours later, the masses present at the Gymkhana Club Ground were on their feet and applauding the pinch-hitter's epic feat.

Over a decade later it still stands as the quickest ever ODI century; good going for a chap originally called up to the squad as cover for a depleted bowling department.

Responsible: Mark Boucher
Date: 20/09/2006
Site Of The Carnage: Potchefstroom
Deliveries: 44
Unlucky Opposition: Zimbabwe

With the series already decided and plenty of room for experimentation on the cards, Proteas coach Mickey Arthur wrung the changes to his starting XI and tampered with the batting order.

One such shuffle was the Boucher's promotion to number four. Forever pitching in with quickfire half-tons in the lower order, the wicketkeeper-batsman grabbed his opportunity toward the top of the knock with both hands.

The belligerent right-hander bludgeoned 10 biggies, taking a particular liking to the midwicket fence and the 20-or-so rows of spectators beyond. Finishing unbeaten on 147, he walked off with the Man of the Match Award and Man of the Series Award to boot.

Responsible: Brian Lara
Date: 09/10/1999
Site Of The Carnage: Dhaka
Deliveries: 45
Unlucky Opposition: Bangladesh

Against an attack littered with an unsightly plethora of slow bowlers, the living legend took full advantage. With fellow stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul dropping anchor at the other end, captain Lara freed his arms from the get-go, racking up three figures before the 20th over had been bowled.

What made his innings that much more masterful was his preference for ground strokes rather than the aerial route, 20 fours versus four sixes a testament to that.

Keen to keep cashing in on a good track, Lara even gave himself a bowl on the day; his very part-time leg-spin bagging him two wickets to wrap up a Man of the Match performance.

Responsible: Shahid Afridi
Date: 15/04/2005
Site Of The Carnage: Kanpur
Deliveries: 45
Unlucky Opposition: India

Almost 10 years since he wowed the cricketing world with his spectacular feat in Nairobi, Afridi again took to a Sub-Continental attack with the utmost of disdain.

No longer an occasional pinch-hitter, he opened the batting and raced to his half-century in 20 deliveries. Slowing things down a smidgen, three figures arrived a mere 25 deliveries later as Pakistan edged ahead in the six-match series.

It was in this clash that Afridi's now renowned nickname 'Boom Boom' was first uttered from the lips of commentator Ravi Shastri... reputedly.

Responsible: Sanath Jayasuriya
Date: 02/04/1996
Site Of The Carnage: Singapore
Deliveries: 48
Unlucky Opposition: Pakistan

Before Afridi rocked up, it was the Sri Lankan icon that held the record for the quickest century in an ODI. In a Singer Cup clash held over two days due to rain, Jayasuriya made Aamer Sohail's team fetch too all corners of neutral ground, The Padang; Sohail himself going for a mammoth 30 runs in one over at the height of The Sanath Show.

The pitch was a belter, with both teams accruing a combined tally of 664 runs on the day. Not to take away from Jayasuriya's heroics though - the only centurion of the match eventually finished with 134, including 11 sixes and 11 fours.

Responsible: Sanath Jayasuriya
Date: 30/06/2008
Site Of The Carnage: Karachi
Deliveries: 55
Unlucky Opposition: Bangladesh

On his 39th birthday and 'beating' Sir Geoffrey Boycott(!) by all of 51 days as the oldest bloke to score an ODI ton, the left-handed entertainer pounded and pulverised a pathetic Tigers team in game nine of the Asia Cup.

16 fours and six maximums (a touch short on the latter for our liking), Jayasuriya had those present at the National Stadium in raptures and Bangladesh at a loss as to where to pitch it next.

Grassed by Alok Kapali shortly after reaching three figures, super Sanath went on to reach 130 before Kapali redeemed himself somewhat with the wicket of the punisher.

Jayawardene sings Jayasuriya-Murali tune

Mahela Jayawardene paid glowing tributes to his two most experienced performers -- Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya -- after they played crucial roles in their 158-run win over Bangladesh.

"Murali was too hot to handle for Bangladesh and it is good to see him among the wickets once we are in the final now. Sanath is absolutely amazing and he remains hungry for runs," Jayawardene said after the match.

The Sri Lankan skipper said that the 201-run opening stand between Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, who also scored a hundred, had set up the big win and a place in the final.

"We are taking every match seriously and we didn't let up on the pressure today as well. We are here to win the Asia Cup and we have to keep on accelerating our performances," he stated.

Jayawardene said Jayasuriya had shown that he still remained a top player after making a comeback to the team since being dropped earlier this year from the one-day squad.

"The selectors took the right decision at that time. They had to take a decision. Sanath had not scored a fifty in 20 innings and they had to look for younger replacements.

"But when Sanath made runs in the IPL they brought him back. I think the right decisions were taken at the right time," he said.

Jayasuriya Effect - Clinical Sri Lanka storm into final

As birthday bashes go, this was pretty special, with Sanath Jayasuriya bludgeoning Bangladesh into submission as Sri Lanka sauntered into the Asia Cup final. Kumar Sangakkara's elegant 121, just 24 hours after a century against Pakistan, was the supporting act, and with Muttiah Muralitharan at his supple-wristed best with the ball, Bangladesh were brushed aside by a massive 158 runs. Nazimuddin and Raqibul Hasan showed some defiance, but even against an attack missing Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof, 333 was never on.

Some of the Bangladesh players were still in diapers when Jayasuriya made his debut, and they must have felt as helpless as babies when he celebrated his 39th birthday with the fluent shot-making and power-hitting that typified his halcyon years. He raced to a century off only 55 balls, and though it turned out to be a two-man show, Sri Lanka still had enough to pull off their fourth successive win of the tournament.

Having added 201 with Sangakkara in only 27.5 overs, Jayasuriya finally ran out of puff in the Karachi heat. A poor delivery from Alok Kapali was lofted to deep cover where Tamim Iqbal took the catch. There was scarcely any joy from the fielders, because by then Jayasuriya had pounded 130 off only 88 balls, with a heady rhythm of cuts, pulls and drives.

Sangakkara carried on though, having been reprieved by Kapali off his own bowling on 51. He drove beautifully down the ground and made good use of both the orthodox sweep and the slogged version. Occasionally, he would also come down the track and loft the ball over the infield, and Bangladesh appeared bereft of options.

When Jayasuriya lashed Mashrafe Mortaza's opening delivery past point for four, it appeared to be a sign of things to come, but with Shahadat Hossain bowling a maiden first-up, Bangladesh conceded only 20 in the first five overs. The trouble started after that, with Jayasuriya dusting off his pull stroke and driving over the infield with immense power.

Sangakkara wasn't to be left behind, piercing the packed off-side field cleverly occasionally, but after a while he gave up trying to keep pace. Jayasuriya was unstoppable. When the bowlers dropped short, he would pull over midwicket. If they were too full, the disdainful flick was unveiled. Too much width and the hoardings behind the point boundary were battered with short-arm cuts. And if all that wasn't punishment enough, he would also jump down the pitch before lashing the ball over the covers.

The half-century took only 31 balls, and when Abdur Razzak came on, he was taken for 19 runs in his second over. Two crisp fours off Farhad Reza and a single to long leg later, he had a century, the 26th of an illustrious career. Sangakkara, who had caressed some lovely drives himself, was the perfect foil, and Bangladesh's cause wasn't helped when Mushfiqur Rahim fluffed a catch behind the stumps off Razzak right after Jayasuriya had got his hundred.

His eventual departure, after slamming 16 fours and a mere six sixes, did stem the tide though, with the other batsmen unable to support Sangakkara. Mahela Jayawardene eased to 20 before pulling a long hop from Kapali to midwicket and neither Chamara, Kapugedera or Silva, could get going. Tillakaratne Dilshan was run out by a direct hit from Raqibul, and when Razzak finally sneaked one under Sangakkara's defence, Bangladesh had managed a comeback of sorts. But thanks to their openers becoming only the 18th pair to score centuries in the same game, Sri Lanka were nearly out of sight by then.

Bangladesh were notionally in the contest till the halfway stage of their innings, with Nazimuddin and Raqibul playing some fine strokes in the face of an imposing asking-rate. Nazimuddin took his time to settle, but then launched into some delightful cuts and drives. Ajantha Mendis, who had bamboozled the Pakistanis, was thumped for a four and a six, and only a miscommunication with Raqibul saw him run out when in sight of a half-century.

By then, he had already seen Tamim and Mohammad Ashraful, the side's leading lights, depart. With Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara giving nothing away early on, Tamim quickly became restless, and a tame nibble at a Vaas delivery was easily taken by Dilshan, deputising for Sangakkara behind the stumps.

Ashraful came in and took three fours off a Vaas over, but then had one of those brain-fades that he's become prone to. He was in no sort of position to try and pull Thilan Thushara, and the top-edge came down into Dilshan's hands.

But with Raqibul starting in strokeful fashion and Nazimuddin determined to tilt at windmills, the run-rate quickly soared, with Thushara coming in for harsh treatment. Nazimuddin's dismissal, halted the charge though, and after that it was all about Murali.

Mushfiqur edged one to slip and Kapali was trapped in front by a doosra. Raqibul's brave innings was curtailed by another that went the wrong way, and Razzaq cleaned up going for the sweep. When Mortaza top-edged a sweep, he had five wickets for the ninth time in ODIs. It may sometimes be a young man's game, but it was the old hands that blew the candles out on Bangladesh.

Jayasuriya ton wounds Tigers

Birthday boy smashes quick-fire 130 as Sri Lanka reach final

Sanath Jayasuriya gave himself a birthday to remember as he struck a sublime 130 to guide Sri Lanka into the Asia Cup final with a 158-run win over Bangladesh.

Jayasuriya, 39, raced to his 26th ODI century in just 55 balls as he and Kumar Sangakkara (121) put on a mammoth 201 opening partnership off only 27.5 overs in the scorching Karachi sunshine.

Sangakkara followed up his century against Pakistan 24 hours earlier with an equally impressive knock to help the Lions up to 332-8 before Muttiah Muralitharan claimed his ninth ODI five-wicket haul to restrict Bangladesh to 174 all out.

After winning the toss, Jayasuriya and Sangakkara quickly tucked into some appetising deliveries from the Bangladesh attack and raced to their 50 partnership off just 49 balls.

Dominated

The left-handed duo continued their assault to all parts of the National Stadium before Jayasuriya's innings - which included 16 fours and six sixes - came to an end after he was caught on the cover boundary off the bowling of Alok Kapali.

Sangakkara continued the momentum throughout the innings, with captain Mahela Jayawardene (20) the only other Sri Lankan batsman contributing to an innings dominated by the openers.

Bangladesh's response took two early knocks when opener Tamim Iqbal (8) and captain Mohammad Ashraful (14) fell cheaply to Chaminda Vaas and Thilan Thshara respectively.

The Tigers fought back bravely through Nazimuddin (47) and Raqibul Hasan (52), however the introduction of Muralitharan soon prompted a quick ending to proceedings.

The Sri Lankan magician finished with figures of 5-31 to complete an emphatic victory and end Bangladesh's feint chances of reaching the final.

Jayasuriya celebrates birthday in style

Karachi: There was no cake and confetti on view. Yet it was a birthday celebration of a different kind as Sanath Jayasuriya, who turned 39 on Monday, unleashed the party spirit in the only manner he knows — with a blistering hundred!

Jayasuriya’s 130 along with Kumar Sangakkara’s 121 and Muttiah Muralitharan’s five-wicket haul guided Sri Lanka to a 158-run victory over Bangladesh in a STAR Cricket Asia Cup semifinal league match at the National Stadium here on Monday.

Sri Lanka scored 332 for eight in 50 overs and snuffed out Bangladesh for 174 in 38.3 overs. Sri Lanka, with six points in its kitty and just one match to play in the semifinal league, is assured of its final berth while Bangladesh is out of the race.

The Bangladesh innings lacked direction with Raqibul Hassan’s 52 and Nazimuddin’s 47 being lone pockets of resistance.

Powerful shots

Earlier, Man of the Match Jayasuriya’s 26th ODI hundred, an exposition of powerful shots backed by a sense of occasion, set a fast tempo after Mahela Jayawardene opted to bat. Jayasuriya’s ton (130, 88b, 16x4, 6x6) was amplified by his opening partner Sangakkara (121, 128b, 16x4, 1x6), who helped himself to his tenth century and third in this tournament.

Jayasuriya cut the first delivery for four off Mortaza and a run feast was laid out. The Matara marauder briefly lost his voice in the second over, a maiden, bowled by Shahadat. The next maiden was bowled by Farhad in the 15th over and they were brief let-me-catch-my-breath moments for Jayasuriya and Sangakkara.

The partnership that yielded 201 runs from 169 deliveries.

Jayasuriya reached his hundred in 55 deliveries, the sixth fastest in ODIs and interestingly the fifth fastest off just 48 balls also belongs to the Sri Lankan. Jayasuriya, after repeatedly finding the fence, found Tamim near the deep cover fence while trying to drill Alok Kapali over the off-side.

Sangakkara, however, continued the good work and his alliance with Jayasuriya ensured that the Sri Lankans had enough in the tank to tide past the meagre 71-run contribution by the next six batsmen.

The tournament after a break on Tuesday will resume with India’s game against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Records don't awe ageless Jayasuriya

Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Super Four, Asia Cup, Karachi
June 30, 2008

The beauty about Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist is that there are certain records they are the most likely to set - and they don't give a damn about it. For them the journey is the thing. They can't bear to take the joy out of their batting just because they are close to a record - in that sense, they derive a Keith Miller-like sense of pleasure from their cricket.

For some reason, in our consciousness, the difference between 200 and 190 is more than just the 10 runs. For these batsmen, though, nearing a landmark is not reason enough for them to not hit a ball that is there to be hit. Scoring, and not records, is their primal emotion. It could have been the ease with which Jayasuriya was playing, it could have been the pace of his devastating hitting, it could have been the flatness of the track, or it could have been how he suddenly exploded in the 10th over, but one sensed a special innings in the making and a threat to Saeed Anwar's record for the highest score in ODIs.

From 29 off 23 balls, he reached his century in 55 balls - in the 18th over. The wicket was placid, so was the bowling, the fielders demoralised and Jayasuriya going strong. Kumar Sangakkara, his opening partner, gave him most of the strike, and 200 no longer seemed a fantasy. Off went the helmet and, after a brief calm Jayasuriya cut loose again. The journalists in the press box rummaged for Anwar's contacts. Two fours and a six later, Jayasuriya had reached 130 off 87 balls, with 22 overs still to go. Then came a short one outside off, and Jayasuriya, perhaps going for a four and slightly misplacing, or going for a six but not getting the power, was caught at sweeper-cover. Had there been a crowd here, a loud sigh would have been followed by generous applause.

"I think it's more natural about instincts than milestones," Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka's captain, said of Jayasuriya's batting. "He just looks to contribute to the team. If he is in his groove, he can score 250 on his day. But that's how he plays. If he changed his game, he probably would get out anyway. He knows exactly how he has been playing for 18-odd years. It's amazing to watch him bat." Jayasuriya has himself said previously that his batting is all natural; he doesn't even think about hitting fours or sixes, they come instinctively to him.

In the past, against India in Sharjah in 2000-01 (189 off 161 balls, out stepping out in 49th over), against Pakistan in Singapore in 1995-96 (134 off 65), against Netherlands in Amstelveen in 2006 (157 off 104), he has looked he would get to the record, but the approach didn't change with the record in sight.

Not long ago, though, Jayasuriya was too old and too out of form to be playing the young man's game of limited-overs cricket. When he was dropped for the West Indies ODIs earlier this year, he had gone 20 innings without having scored a half-century. "Due respect to selectors too, because when they dropped him he wasn't in form; he wasn't scoring runs," Jayawardene said. "They had to look at the future too."

Despite his replacements not doing well, Sri Lanka chose to persist with them. The selectors had picked a squad - excluding Jayasuriya - for the Asia Cup as well, but a not-so-happy sports minister delayed in ratifying it, in which time Jayasuriya made his case with a sizzling century for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The result: he won back his place.

He chose the perfect day to score his first century on return to the national side - the day he turned 39. Some of his team-mates hadn't even made it to primary school when Jayasuriya had made his debut. "He doesn't surprise me. I have been lucky to have him; his attitude is the same, he hasn't changed." It's just as well that Jayasuriya doesn't change, as 52 days from now he can have a go at another record: become the oldest man to score an ODI century. Are we being greedy if we ask the oldest centurion to score one that challenges the fastest one too?

Jayasuriya hits Birthday century demoralizing Bangla !!!

As birthday bashes go, this one was pretty special, with Sanath Jayasuriya bludgeoning Bangladesh into near-submission as Sri Lanka took a giant stride towards the Asia Cup final. Some of the Bangladesh players were still in diapers when Jayasuriya made his debut, and they must have felt as helpless as babies at times when he cut and pulled on his 39th birthday with the fluency and power that typified his halcyon years. He raced to a century off only 55 balls, as Sri Lanka thumped 175 from the first 25 overs. With Jayasuriya in such destructive mood, it almost escaped attention that Kumar Sangakkara had eased to yet another classy 50.

When Jayasuriya lashed Mashrafe Mortaza's opening delivery past point for four, it appeared to be a sign of things to come, but with Shahadat Hossain bowling a maiden first up, Bangladesh conceded only 20 in the first five overs. The trouble started after that, with Jayasuriya dusting off his pull stroke and also driving over the infield with immense power.

Sangakkara wasn't to be left behind, piercing the packed offside field cleverly on occasion, but after a while he gave up trying to keep pace. Jayasuriya was unstoppable. When the bowlers dropped short, he would pull over midwicket. If they were too full, the disdainful flick was unveiled. Too much width and the hoardings behind the point boundary were battered with short-arm cuts. And if all that wasn't punishment enough, he would also saunter down the track before lashing the ball over the covers.

The half-century took only 31 balls, and when Abdur Razzak came on, he was taken for 19 runs in his second over. Two crisp fours off Farhad Reza and a single to long leg later, he had a century, the 26th of an illustrious career. Sangakkara, who had caressed some lovely drives himself, was the perfect foil, and Bangladesh's cause wasn't helped when Mushfiqur Rahim fluffed a catch behind the stumps off Razzak right after Jayasuriya had got his hundred. It could only get worse.

Sanath Jayasuriya is the second oldest player to score a one-day hundred after Geoffrey Boycott, who scored 105 against Australia in sydney when he was 39 years and 51 days old.

Column by Sanath Jayasuriya - " You can’t gauge a cricketer by his career "

by Sanath Jayasuriya

They say that cricket is becoming a young man's game. However, Sourav Ganguly has shown that with class and experience age need not be a barrier to success. He had a fantastic year in both Tests and ODIs and it was nice to see his memorable comeback to the India team capped on Friday when he became the first recipient of the Asian Cricketer of the Year Award at the Castrol Asian Cricket Awards function held in Karachi. The event also saw the felicitation of the legendary Hanif Mohammed, whilst Shoaib Malik was the named the Pakistan Cricketer of the Year.

Also being a bit long in the tooth – in fact, a lot longer in the tooth – it was good to see. I don't believe that you can accurately gauge the life of a cricketer by his career. Every cricket is different in terms of health, fitness and hunger for the game. What matters most is performance at the end of the day.

And on that note Ganguly cannot be faulted for his performances in 2007. It was a great year for him with 1106 runs at 61.44 in Tests and then 1240 runs at 44.28 in ODIs, which included 12 fifties. That is an impressive set of statistics and it is no surprise that he also won the Castrol Asian Batsman of the Year award.

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara was adjudged the Asian Test Batsman of the Year and that also came as no surprise considering the string of huge scores he put together against Bangladesh, Australia and England last year. He has matured in a very fine player. More importantly, he's very tough mentally, which is also the secret to his consistency.

We are hoping he can continue his form right through this Asia Cup because it is clear now after the first round that there are plenty of batsman in top form. India's run chase against Pakistan on Thursday was an exceptional run chase. We know that we are going to have to be at our very best against both Pakistan and India if we are to qualify for the final, our first priority now.

We're pretty pleased with the preparations thus far. The performance against Bangladesh was pretty clinical and that was what we wanted to kick-start the tournament. We have not played as a team for a while what with the IPL and it was important to start a new season on a high note. I felt it was a very professional display.

In the end the win against the UAE was comprehensive although it was far from our best cricket at times. We were a little loose at times, possibly too relaxed, which is dangerous against any opposition. Nevertheless, it was great to see our new spinner, Ajantha Mendis, in the wickets and my replacement, Mahela Udawatte, top score with 67.

However, from Sunday, things are going to get a lot, lot tougher. We know that, too, and are confident we can rise to the occasion. People may think India and Pakistan are the favourites but we can rise to the occasion and win big matches.

'Old man' Jayasuriya making no plans for retirement - Reuters

KARACHI, June 29 (Reuters)

Swashbuckling Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya celebrates his 39th birthday on Sunday with no retirement plans in sight.

Sri Lanka's highest test scorer and the second most capped player in one-day internationals, Jayasuriya demonstrated he had lost none of his flair by smashing 72 against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup on Wednesday.

"I don't think about my future plans," he told reporters. "As long as I am fit I will keep on going."

The stocky left-hander retired from test cricket last December but continues to play in one-dayers, a form of the game that made him a hero in his country and a feared opponent.

His explosive style of batting helped Sri Lanka win the 1996 World Cup and changed the way many batsmen approached one-day matches.

"I don't think age is a factor with Sanath," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene told Reuters. "As long as he is hungry to perform, I am sure he will keep on going."

Jayasuriya was axed from Sri Lanka's one-day squad for the tour of the West Indies in April before being recalled for the six-nation Asia Cup.

"Sanath went through a bit of a rough period last year or so after the World Cup," said Jayawardene. "People asked questions about him but I thought he worked really very hard. I think he needed to prove something and he proved it."

With 12,382 runs and 309 wickets in 412 one-day internationals and having retired after 110 tests with 6,973 runs many feel, the all-rounder has nothing more to prove.

"I love this game and I still feel great after a good performance or seeing the team win," Jayasuriya said.

Sri Lanka's former skipper quit the national side in 2006 because of differences between the board and selectors but was quickly persuaded to return.

"I think he is the only guy who knows the answer how long he will keep on going," said Jayawardene. "But I think he is amazing and it is good to have him in the team. He can still change the game pretty soon."

Asia Cup in numbers - Sanath tops all the way, both in Batting & Bowling !!

Summary: Tournaments - 8, Winners: India -4, Sri Lanka -3, Pakistan - 1

Runners-up: Sri Lanka – 5, India – 2, Pakistan – 1

Other milestones:

Most runs: Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) – 842 runs @ 46.77 in 20 matches

Most wickets: Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) – 20 wickets @ 30.25 in 20 matches

Highest individual score: Younis Khan (Pak) – 144 v Hong Kong at Colombo, 2004

Best bowling analysis: Aaqib Javed (Pak) – 5-19 v India at Sharjah, 1994-95

Most matches: Aravinda De Silva (SL) – 24 matches from 1984 to 2000

Most fifties and over: Marvan Atapattu (SL) – 7 (1 ton & 6 fifties)in 13 matches