Kiwi batter breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record on his birthday

New Zealand faced off against the Netherlands in the second ODI of the three-match series at Hamilton on Saturday. The Netherlands won the toss and decided to field first. The Kiwis put on a total of 264 runs in their 50 overs after being 89 for 6 down in the 23^rd over. The black cap bowlers then bundled the Netherlands out for 146 runs and won the match by a margin of 118 runs. With this win, New Zealand takes an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series.

After losing the first match of the series, the Dutch team looked like they meant business in the second match. They had New Zealand reeling at 89 for 6 in just the 23^rd over of the innings. But the acting captain of the Kiwi team, Tom Latham batted steadily at one end. He went on to score an unbeaten knock of 140 runs off 123 deliveries. His innings helped the New Zealand reach a total of 264 runs, which they defended successfully.

Notably, it was Latham’s birthday and he could not have celebrated it in a better way. His 140 runs knock, which is also now his career best, is now the highest ODI score made by a batter on a birthday. The record till now belonged to Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian legend played a knock of 134 runs on the 26^th of April in 1998.

Ross Taylor is third in the list, who scored 131 runs on his birthday in 2011. Sanath Jayasuriya is at number 4, who scored 130 runs in 2008. Vinod Kambli is the fifth batter on the list, scoring 100 runs on his birthday in 1993.