On This Day: October 4, 1996 - Shahid Afridi stuns the world of cricket with a 37-ball ODI century

[Hasan123]

What an effort from Afridi. Great innings. Turned him into a superstar.

 

[austerlitz]

The day that was the beginning of the end of pakistani batsmanship .

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> 1996. In Nairobi, Kenya and in his first ever innings for Pakistan, Shahid Afridi went 0 6 1 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 6 6 1 1 6 6 2 6 4 4 0 0 6 6 1 4 1 1 0 4 1 6 0 6 0 2 4 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/h2GkbxMnAC">pic.twitter.com/h2GkbxMnAC</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1047742559446085632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[axis]

He was a phenomenon, one of his kind.. changed the way batsmen approached the game.. explosive and maverick.

A champion in his own way, and when he got going, opposition had no chance. Worked wonders for the confidence of the opposition.

 

[AMSS]

He was a phenomenon, one of his kind.. changed the way batsmen approached the game.. explosive and maverick.

A champion in his own way, and when he got going, opposition had no chance. Worked wonders for the confidence of the opposition.

Still feel he retired early. Pakistan needs more Afridis.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twenty two years since that amazing day in Nairobi! Still remember that innings, the moment that changed my life. Thank you for your love and support all these years. Thank you to my teammates for believing in me. <a href="https://t.co/Dj8Djd4KAd">https://t.co/Dj8Djd4KAd</a></p>— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1047734873925046272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[WhenSultansBowled]

We can say anything we want but a prime Afridi was a force of nature. Slapping pacers for sixers on sheer hitting ability; no foot movement no timing needed

And spinners, especially offies were hopeless against him.

Damn.

 

[axis]

Still feel he retired early. Pakistan needs more Afridis.

All good things come to an end.

 

[The Viper]

23 years to the day!

 

[JattMaula]

Lala!

He should teach youngsters how to unleash the pure destruction.

 

[Mean&Green]

You can what you want say warm about him but the truth is man was one of the very few genuine match winners we only ever had. Regardless of his average or stats with the bat he won us games many games single handedly with the bat and ball an absolute legend <3.

 

[pillionrider]

The last Pakistani star. Amir is a mini-star and Babar could be a batting hero, though he is a bit short on star quality.

 

[sweep_shot]

Afridi came out of nowhere. He wrecked havoc in only his second game.

 

[MenInG]

Changed the face of Pakistan cricket - for the better?

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> 1996. The day Shahid Afridi smashed 11 sixes and took only 37 balls to reach a ODI century <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/jQCusfIf6w">pic.twitter.com/jQCusfIf6w</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1180022256203943936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[Chief Destroyer]

Worst day for Pakistan cricket. Ruined the batting culture for the next two decades. We are barely starting to recover from it.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Top 10 greatest achievements in our cricketing history

 

[Shazzam]

Made us the batting powerhouse we are today.

 

[shantanu]

You can what you want say warm about him but the truth is man was one of the very few genuine match winners we only ever had. Regardless of his average or stats with the bat he won us games many games single handedly with the bat and ball an absolute legend <3.

Shoaib, Wasim, Waqar, Saqlain, Anwar, Asif??

 

[shantanu]

Worst day for Pakistan cricket. Ruined the batting culture for the next two decades. We are barely starting to recover from it.

This changed the Pakistani paradigm as to how they approached batting and cricket in general. This single inning harmed Pak cricket more than most realise. Because of this innings he couldn't be dropped and he was not a role model for the youngsters.

 

[MenInG]

Another day to marvel or mourne for some!

 

[JattMaula]

Its Lala day today!

Drinks are on me.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Still one of the most talked about innings with the Miandad six.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dreams do come true! I dreamt of this but never knew my dream would come true like it did on 4th Oct 1996.A memory that will last forever. Thank u fans&media from around the &#55356;&#57102;for remembering the inns thanks to legend Sachin for his&#55356;&#57295; which made the ball travel miles that day! <a href="https://t.co/RYVM2vPJIt">pic.twitter.com/RYVM2vPJIt</a></p>— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1312701032569266181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

Former Pakistan skipper and flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi was an enigmatic personality who gave a new dimension to the Pakistan cricket team. Afridi was hailed as one of the biggest crowd-pullers as he entertained the viewers with his eccentric batting and the ability to smash the ball all over the park, irrespective of the opposition he was playing against.

One of the brightest moments of Afridi’s career came in 1996 when he blasted the fastest-ever ODI century. Playing in only his second One Day International against Sri Lanka, the Pakistan all-rounder reached his hundred in just 37 deliveries. Afridi held the record for the fastest ODI century for over 17 years.

It was in 2014, that Corey Anderson broke the historic record by smashing a 36-ball hundred. As of now, South Africa’s AB de Villiers is at the top of the charts as in 2015 he hammered 100 runs in just 31 balls in an ODI game against West Indies.

Coming back to Afridi, the Pakistan star steered the team to victory by 82 runs against Sri Lanka by playing the most memorable knock of his ODI career. The Men in Green were up against Sri Lanka in the league match of the KCA Centenary Tournament on October 4, 1996.

Put to bat first, Pakistan lost their first wicket in the form of Saleem Elahi at a score of 60. What followed after that was a complete annihilation of the Sri Lanka bowlers. Walking to bat at number three, Afridi posted 102 runs in just 40 deliveries. His knock was laced with six boundaries and 11 maximums at a strike rate of 255. It was KSC de Silva who was successful in putting a break to the heroics of the batter.

Apart from Afridi, the opening batter Saeed Anwar was also terrific with the willow as he smashed 115 runs in 120 deliveries. The two batters together took the Pakistan team to a mammoth score of 371.

Chasing 372, Sri Lanka ended up with 289 runs. Aravinda de Silva was the highest run-scorer for his team as he scored 122 off 116. However, the team fell short of 82 runs as Waqar Younis picked a five-wicket haul. Afridi had contributed with the ball too as he had picked a lone wicket of Arjuna Ranatunga.

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/...slammed-then-fastest-odi-hundred-4278461.html

 

[JattMaula]

Its Lala day today!

Drinks are on me.