#OnThisDay: Afridi struck the fastest ODI century then
With 11 sixes and 4 fours, Boom Boom had played an innings worth remembering
(Web Desk) – It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Shahid Afridi entered cricket with a bang and his arrival in ODIs was the mother of all debut innings. October 4, 1996 is still remembered as the day when Afridi struck the innings of his life by scoring fastest ODI century then.
Before the 31-ball ODI century by AB de Villiers and Cory Anderson’s 36-ball knock, Shahid Afridi remained the record holder for his milestone. The 16-year-old teenager had walked in to bat at number 3 in his first match against the 1996 World Cup champions Sri Lanka at Nairobi s Gymkhana Cricket Ground in Kenya.
It took him only one delivery to settle in as he hit the second ball out of the park. His innings was quite merciless. 11 sixes and 4 fours were enough to get him reach his hundred. Interestingly, he played 13 dot balls in his 37-ball hundred. One of the brilliant things about his knock was that he played all around the ground and struck sixes on both sides. He helped Pakistan score a gigantic 371/9 in 50 overs and ultimately win the match by 82 runs.
Power-hitting successors of Afridi including Corey Anderson and AB de Villiers only managed to break the record in 2014 and 2015 respectively as the Pakistani batsman remained the title holder for 14 years.
Watch the historic innings here:
Although the fastest hundred then gained him plenty of popularity and defined his batting style for the career spaning two decades, some critics say that Afridi couldn t become a proper batsman due to the image of striking every ball out of the ground. As an all-rounder, Afridi could easily be regarded as one of the best produced by Pakistan. His batting style also reflected in his captaincy later on when he was handed the responsibilities. Afridi retained his aggressive nature on the field and that s what his fans love the most about him.
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi is all-set to contribute with both bat and bowl while playing in the UAE-based T10 cricket league which will also feature other big names like Virender Singh, Kumar Sangakkar and Eoin Morgan. He has switched his franchise from Peshawar Zalmi to Karachi Kings for next year s PSL edition.
