Five most surprising Cricket facts – Part 3
Throughout the years, special moments have surprised global Cricket fans and that made this game more attractive to them. Sometimes, some players came up with splendid performances and that surprised the opponents also.
Some surprising facts will be mind-boggling as fans would never be thought that to happen. Here are some surprising facts about the history of this game.
Saeed Ajmal has never won a Player of the Match award in One Day International Cricket
Saeed Ajmal (Source: Twitter)
Saeed Ajmal is known as one of the greatest spinners for Pakistan across all the formats as he picked up 447 wickets in 212 International matches. But, he has a unique record to his name in his One Day Internationals.
He has never won a Player of the Match award in ODI cricket. He represented his country 113 times where he managed to pick up 18 wickets at an economy of 4.18. His best performance came against Arch-Rivals India with a figure of five wickets by conceding 24 runs only.
MS Dhoni has never scored an ODI ton outside of Asia
MS Dhoni (Source: Twitter)
MS Dhoni is one of the greatest Indian captains in ODI cricket. He also performed over the years batting down the order by delivering some special performances with the bat.
However, he failed to score any ODI hundred outside Asia. Outside Asia, he played cricket in Australia, England, Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, West Indies, and even Zimbabwe. Speaking of his ODI career, he played 350 matches where he scored 1073 runs, including 10 hundred at an average of 50.57.
The England Cricket Team is the only team in ODI history to lose a 60-over ODI Final, a 50-over ODI Final, and a 20-over Final in World Cups
England Team (Source: Twitter)
The England Cricket Team is the only team to lose the World Cup finals in a 60-over format, a 50-over format, and a 20-over format. England lost a 60 over-World Cup final against West Indies in 1979, 50 overs World Cup final against Australia and Pakistan (in 1987 & 1992), and 20 over World Cup final against West Indies in 2016.
On the other hand, India is the only team to win the World Cup finals in a 60-over format (1983 vs West Indies), a 50-over format (2011 vs Sri Lanka), and a 20-over format (2007 vs Pakistan).
Sir Don Bradman has just hit 6 sixes in his entire career
Sir Don Bradman (Source: Twitter)
Sir Don Bradman had a tremendous career as he scored 6996 runs in 80 Test matches at a mesmerizing average of 99.94. He also scored 24 tons during that timeline.
But, this Australian batter just hit six sixes in his entire career and that’s a unique record he has with him. He managed to hit five sixes against England and one against India in his whole career. He also hit two fives and a staggering 618 fours in Test cricket.
Shahid Afridi used a bat borrowed from Waqar Younis to score the fastest ODI century for Pakistan
Shahid Afridi (Source: Twitter)
Shahid Afridi holds the record of scoring the fastest century in ODI cricket for Pakistan when he smashed Sri Lankan bowlers in 1996 in Nairobi. He scored 102 runs off 40 balls at a strike rate of 255.
However, this Pakistani legend shared an interesting story in his autobiography, Game Changer. He said that he used Sachin Tendulkar’s bat to smash that ton. He added that Sachin gave the bat to Waqar Younis for a custom-made replica to be made of it in Sialkot. But before, Younis gave it to him just before he went out to bat.
