msb314
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2014
- Runs
- 10,750
- Post of the Week
- 2
1) Inzamam 122 vs India 2004 - for me, this takes the cake. We were chasing 350 to win which felt like 400 back in those days. His century single handedly got us within 6 runs of that total as we fell for 344. It was the highest whilst chasing during that time. In front of a buoyous and expectant crowd along with the massive pressure of an India-Pak series after such a long time - this has to be the best match losing century in ODI's by a pakistani.
2) Afridi 109 vs SL 2010 - some will be surprised to see this but IMO this was Afridi's best ever ODi knock and it was a shame he could not win it. We were only chasing around 220 in the first game of the 2010 Asia Cup but lost wickets regularly and were 40/5 at one point. In came Afridi and he took the game away. Fell about 20 runs short of the total whilst suffering from cramp and we fell away soon after that to lose this game.
3) Babar Azam 100 vs Aus 2017 - probably the most reason knock with a century but ended up on the losing side. We were chasing 370 so always a tough ask but Babar played superbly to keep up with the asking rate. Initially played second fiddle to Sharjeel but he upped the ante after his dimissal. Great knock by a 22 year old on his first tour Down Under.
4) Fawad Alam 114 vs SL 2014 - it really pains me to say this but this knock will probably remain Fawad Alam's last significant contribution to international cricket. Batting first in Mirpur - we were reduced to 20/3 but Fawad played an exceptional knock to bring us to 265. Unfortunately - SL chased it down to win the 2014 Asia Cup.
5) Salman Butt 129 vs India 2007 - Salman Butt has many faults but that guy was amazing against India in ODIs! During the 3rd ODi of the 2007 series. We were chasing 295 to win at Kanpur and our batting was in shambles. However, Salman Butt had other ideas and played a blinder to get us close. He fell for 129 and even Yuvraj Singh came up to shake his hand after that knock!
6) Younis Khan 103 vs NZ 2014 - This will come as a surprise to many people as YK in 2014 was an outcast in ODi's and should not have been in the team. But hats off this was a very good knock. We were chasing exactly 300 to win and kept losing wickets but YK and Anwar Ali gave a great partnership as YK accelerated after getting to his 50. We unfortunately fell short by only 8 runs.
7) Hafeez/Nasir vs India 2012 - I am cheating a bit here by including 2 knocks in the same game but in many ways Hafeez and Nasir's knock against India int he 2012 Asia Cup game were very similar. Both played at a RR of 5-6 and layed a very good platform as we reached 329. I for one thought it was a match winning total but Kohli and his 183 runs had other ideas
8) Shoaib Malik 125 vs India 2008. This was probably Malik's best ODi knock during his tenure as captain. Batting first on a placid Karachi wicket during an Asia Cup 2008 game vs India - Malik played beautifully with Nasir Jamshed and then with MoYo was we made 299. However, Sehwag blitzed away during India's run chase and they comfortably chased it down.
9) Inzamam 123 vs India 2004 - it is sad that both of Inzy's centuries in the 2004 Samsung series ended up for losing causes. Although not as good as the Karachi one - this was a great knock too. His century helped us pile on 293 runs on a flat Lahore wicket. We thought we had won the match when India were reduced to 94/4 but Dravid and Kaif had other ideas...
10) Azhar Ali 101 vs Bangladesh 2015 - this was a horrible and wretched tour for us right after the 2015 WC as we lost a series and were clean swept by Bangladesh for the first time in our history. Azhar Ali remained a bright spot for us with his effective batting whilst captaining for the first time. Played a good century in the 3rd ODi but was not enough as Bangladesh easily chased down 250.
Comment and vote away!
If there are other great ODi centuries in match losing knocks that I missed - please add them but don't by shy!
2) Afridi 109 vs SL 2010 - some will be surprised to see this but IMO this was Afridi's best ever ODi knock and it was a shame he could not win it. We were only chasing around 220 in the first game of the 2010 Asia Cup but lost wickets regularly and were 40/5 at one point. In came Afridi and he took the game away. Fell about 20 runs short of the total whilst suffering from cramp and we fell away soon after that to lose this game.
3) Babar Azam 100 vs Aus 2017 - probably the most reason knock with a century but ended up on the losing side. We were chasing 370 so always a tough ask but Babar played superbly to keep up with the asking rate. Initially played second fiddle to Sharjeel but he upped the ante after his dimissal. Great knock by a 22 year old on his first tour Down Under.
4) Fawad Alam 114 vs SL 2014 - it really pains me to say this but this knock will probably remain Fawad Alam's last significant contribution to international cricket. Batting first in Mirpur - we were reduced to 20/3 but Fawad played an exceptional knock to bring us to 265. Unfortunately - SL chased it down to win the 2014 Asia Cup.
5) Salman Butt 129 vs India 2007 - Salman Butt has many faults but that guy was amazing against India in ODIs! During the 3rd ODi of the 2007 series. We were chasing 295 to win at Kanpur and our batting was in shambles. However, Salman Butt had other ideas and played a blinder to get us close. He fell for 129 and even Yuvraj Singh came up to shake his hand after that knock!
6) Younis Khan 103 vs NZ 2014 - This will come as a surprise to many people as YK in 2014 was an outcast in ODi's and should not have been in the team. But hats off this was a very good knock. We were chasing exactly 300 to win and kept losing wickets but YK and Anwar Ali gave a great partnership as YK accelerated after getting to his 50. We unfortunately fell short by only 8 runs.
7) Hafeez/Nasir vs India 2012 - I am cheating a bit here by including 2 knocks in the same game but in many ways Hafeez and Nasir's knock against India int he 2012 Asia Cup game were very similar. Both played at a RR of 5-6 and layed a very good platform as we reached 329. I for one thought it was a match winning total but Kohli and his 183 runs had other ideas
8) Shoaib Malik 125 vs India 2008. This was probably Malik's best ODi knock during his tenure as captain. Batting first on a placid Karachi wicket during an Asia Cup 2008 game vs India - Malik played beautifully with Nasir Jamshed and then with MoYo was we made 299. However, Sehwag blitzed away during India's run chase and they comfortably chased it down.
9) Inzamam 123 vs India 2004 - it is sad that both of Inzy's centuries in the 2004 Samsung series ended up for losing causes. Although not as good as the Karachi one - this was a great knock too. His century helped us pile on 293 runs on a flat Lahore wicket. We thought we had won the match when India were reduced to 94/4 but Dravid and Kaif had other ideas...
10) Azhar Ali 101 vs Bangladesh 2015 - this was a horrible and wretched tour for us right after the 2015 WC as we lost a series and were clean swept by Bangladesh for the first time in our history. Azhar Ali remained a bright spot for us with his effective batting whilst captaining for the first time. Played a good century in the 3rd ODi but was not enough as Bangladesh easily chased down 250.
Comment and vote away!
If there are other great ODi centuries in match losing knocks that I missed - please add them but don't by shy!
