Centuries in 4 consecutive ODIs – remembering Kumar Sangakkara’s tremendous feat

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara hit four consecutive ODI centuries in 2015. It was a prolific year, indeed, for the hugely talented left-hander at the time.

Several other players have hit three consecutive ODI tons, but Sangakkara is the only man to collect four in a row. It remains to be seen if anyone will ever match or better this feat.

What’s more, he did it amid a the pressures of a World Cup,  travelling from Australia to New Zealand and back again for his outstanding collection of four in four.

105 not out v Bangladesh, Melbourne

Sangakkara effectively warmed up with this unbeaten 105 against the Tigers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the boundaries are by no means small. One six and 13 fours later, he had spent about two hours at the crease and faced 76 balls.

Tillakaratne Dilshan also scored a ton – they shared a 200-plus partnership. Sri Lanka won the match comfortably.

117 not out v England, Wellington

From Australia to New Zealand, Sangakkara arrived at the Westpac Stadium with a point to prove against the English. He did just that, following up the ton against relative weaklings Bangladesh with another against big guns England.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad had not answer to his brilliance en route to 11 fours and two sixes during an 86-delivery stay at the crease. Sri Lanka won the match despite a ton from Joe Root.

Also read: Champions Trophy history – interesting facts and figures you need to know

104 v Australia, Sydney

Sri Lanka were unable to win this match, as they returned to Australia to play the tournament hosts. The Sydney Cricket Ground presented Sangakkara with trickier conditions this time, as he milked his way to 104 from 107 deliveries, collecting only 11 fours and no sixes.

A 377-run target proved to much for him and the rest of the team. This time it was Glenn Maxwell’s ton, rather than another from Sangakkara, that had the biggest say on the outcome.

124 v Scotland, Hobart

For a fourth ODI century in two a prolific two weeks, Sangakkara took the attack to the Scottish. Dilshan was along for the ride again, hitting another century as well.

This time Sangakkara collected 13 fours and four sixes, exploring most corners of the Bellerive Oval in Hobart with his orthodox and inventive shot selection – and outstanding stroke play.

Sri Lanka ultimately exited the 2015 World Cup at the quarter-final stage, when Sangakkara perished for just 45 in defeat to South Africa.

Read next: The 4 best hat-tricks in T20I cricket from genuine fast bowlers

 

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Champions Trophy history – interesting facts and figures you need to know

Whether next year’s Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan remains in the balance. And whether the International Cricket Council decide to retain the tournament in the future is a doubt.

Regardless, the Champions Trophy has been a longstanding mainstay in ODI cricket for many years – and has churned out many records along the way.

Here, we look at some of the individual and collective milestones collected during the competition, since its inception in 1998.

Who has won the most Champions Trophy titles?

Australia and India are the most successful teams in the history of the Champions Trophy with two titles each. The Aussies won back-to-back tournaments across 2006 and 2009. India shared the title with Sri Lanka in 2002 before clinching it as their own in 2013.

South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan have won the Champions Trophy title once each. England are still pursuing a maiden Champions Trophy title after losing two finals in 2004 and 2013.

Who has scored the most runs in the Champions Trophy?

West Indies batter Chris Gayle is the top run-scorer in the history of the tournament with 791 in 17 innings – this tally includes three centuries and a half-ton. He hit 474 of the 791 in the 2006 tournament.

Gayle is one of four players with three centuries in the Champions Trophy. The others are Herschelle Gibbs, Sourav Ganguly and Shikhar Dhawan.

Gayle does not play ODI cricket anymore. Among active players, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Joe Root have impressive Champions Trophy records. All three could feature at the next edition of the Champions Trophy in 2025.

Read more: These are the 9 biggest sixes in the history of cricket

Who has taken the most Champions Trophy wickets?

New Zealand seamer Kyle Mills is top of the pops here. He took 28 of his 240 ODI wickets during the Champions Trophy. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan managed 25 and 24, respectively.

Australia‘s Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath too 22 and 21, respectively. The spinner with the most Champions Trophy wickets is Daniel Vettori with 18. Ravindra Jadeja is the top Champions Trophy wicket-taker among active players – he has 16 in 10 fixtures.

Has the Champions Trophy included smaller nations?

Afghanistan will make their Champions Trophy debut in 2025. Kenya featured in 2002, 2002 and 2004. Netherlands were there in 2002, while the United States of America participated in 2004.

Zimbabwe played in the first five editions of the Champions Trophy, but have not been included in the four since.

Read next: 4 players have now hit back-to-back centuries in T20I cricket

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5 rare examples of a player opening batting and bowling in same Test match

Manor Prabhakar in the 1990s and, more recently, Mohammad Hafeez are among the most prominent examples of one player opening the batting and bowling in the same Test match.

Every now and then, for reasons vast and varied, teams effectively play a bowler or batter out of position. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

This has happened on a good few occasions in the longest format of the international game. Here, we look at five times a player has opened the batting and bowling in the same Test match.

Vernon Philander, Mohali, 2015

South Africa were in the world of trouble in sub-continental conditions in 2015. Their top-order woes were so deep during the Mohali Test that they decided to trial all-rounder Vernon Philander as an opening batter in their final innings.

Philander was no mug with the bat, but was used to hitting lower-order runs rather than compiling time at the crease at the top of the knock. He failed, scoring just one run before perishing lbw to Ravindra Jadeja. The flop only compounded South Africa’s on-field inadequacies against spin and muddled off-field thinking.

Glenn Maxwell, Delhi, 2013

In Delhi, in 2013, Australia were also at the mercy of India’s penchant for preparing rank turners. Ed Cowan couldn’t handle opening the batting in the first innings, so the Aussies tried all-rounder Glenn Maxwell at the top in the second. The move did not work – he scored only eight.

“That was one of the worst Test wickets I ever played on, Our thought was to try and be able, with a brand new ball, get someone out there who can really take on the game. It didn’t pay off but it was a thought process to just get someone out there and put the bowlers under pressure, which as soon as Glenn Maxwell walks out the bowlers know he can turn the game immediately,” said captain Shane Watson at the time.

Read more: Border-Gavaskar Trophy – 5 interesting Australia v India Test records

Virender Sehwag, Delhi, 2008

There was nothing to the contest in November 2008, when India and Australia played out a dull draw in Delhi. Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman had hit double-centuries, Michael Clarke collected a ton as well – and a win or loss for either team was entirely off the cards.

Sehwag only scored 17 runs in the match – and was afforded the chance to get Simon Katich or Matthew Hayden out on day five. He bowled two overs of cheeky part-time spin. Katich and Watson wouldn’t dare try anything untoward against the part-timer and both remained not out as the captains shook hands on a boring stalemate.

Graham Gooch, Faisalabad, 1987

Six bowlers shared 24 fourth-innings overs in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in December 1987. Among them was Graham Gooch, who opened the bowling and sent down two overs with no success as another draw dawned.

Jack Leach, Kandy, 2018

England’s nightwatchman extraordinaire got a go at the very top against Sri Lanka this time. But this time he managed just a single – a far cry from his other valuable contributions when promoted from the tail end to the middle order.

Read next: Who are the leading run-scorers among active Test cricketers?

 

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The 4 best hat-tricks in T20I cricket from genuine fast bowlers

New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson took a T20I hat-trick against Sri Lanka in Dambulla during November 2024. Ferguson is among the quickest bowlers in world cricket these days.

Hat-tricks, of course, are not reserved for fast bowlers, but it’s often a viewing spectacle when pace aces castle stumps, force catches and ensure positive lbw appeals.

When conditions and circumstances are right, fast bowlers have a tendency to succeed more than spinners and standard seamers.

Here are five entertaining examples of genuine fast bowlers going three in three in the shortest format of the international game.

Pat Cummins

The Australian fast bowler was truly marvelous en route to two hat-tricks during the 2024 T20 World Cup. The first was against Bangladesh in North Sound and the second against Afghanistan in Kingstown. Cummins enjoyed the Caribbean conditions a lot, indeed.

Claiming two hat-tricks within three days is an outstanding feat. Cummins was named player of the match in victory over Bangladesh. His hat-trick was not enough to prevent defeat to Afghanistan, though.

Read more: The 4 best hat-tricks in T20I cricket from genuine fast bowlers

Josh Little

Ireland have longed for an outright fast bowler for an extended period. They now have one in Little, whose pace and success at international level have also brought him renown in the Indian Premier League. Little was sensational for the Irish against New Zealand in November 2023, removing Kane Williamson, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner in succession.

Conditions at the Adelaide Oval played right into his hands. He, alongside Curtis Campher, are the only players to have taken a T20I hat-trick for Ireland.

Jason Holder

The lanky West Indies star has lost some pace in recent years, but in January 2022 he was bowling rapidly – and cherished the pitch on offer in Bridgetown. So good were the conditions, actually, that Holder did not stop at three in three – he went four in four.

Chris Jordan, Sam Billings, Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood had no answer to Holder’s brilliance. Only four men have taken four wickets in four successive deliveries in T20I cricket – Holder, Campher, Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.

Kagiso Rabada

This time, it was the 2021 T20 World Cup, and again England’s Jordan was among the victims. Rabada relished conditions in Sharjah, which didn’t traditionally suit fast bowling but evidently did on this day. Chris Woakes, Eoin Morgan and Jordan crashed in succession as South Africa secured a 10-run win.

Rabada did not get the player of the match accolade, though. That award went to Rassie van der Dussen for a solid 94 not out.

Read next: These 5 players have shared 23 ducks in Test cricket in 2024

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West Indies vs England: Score and latest updates from second T20

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Who has the most player of the series awards in Test, ODI and T20I cricket?

Find out who has won the most player of the series awards in Test, ODI and T20I cricket.

You might be surprised to learn that India have dominated things here.

One of them has not retired yet and could still add to his impressive tally.

Ravichandran Ashwin – Tests

Ashwin has collected 11 player of the series awards in Test cricket since debuting in international cricket in 2011. He also has one player of the series award in T20I cricket. Ashwin’s status among world cricket’s best all-rounders has long been argued, but there is no denying his among the greatest spinners to grace the game.

For a man to collected a player of the series award effectively every 10 Tests, he has to be genuinely consistent and successful at and away from home conditions. Ashwin has exemplified this throughout his outstanding career.

Sri Lanka‘s Muttiah Muralitharan also collected 11 player of the series awards in Test match cricket.

Read more: These are the 9 biggest sixes in the history of cricket

Sachin Tendulkar – ODIs

More than 18,400 runs and 49 centuries later, it’s not hard to believe that Tendulkar picked up a whopping 15 ODI player of the series awards. Only two other men have reached double figures here – Virat Kohli and Sanath Jayasuriya with 11 each.

Tendulkar’s 15 averaged across 108 series for a remarkable average. He also landed five Test player of the series awards. It’s little wonder he is considered by many as the best Test and ODI batsman to date.

Tendulkar only ever played one T20I as the rise of the format coincided with the twilight of his international career. It’s not unimaginable that he would have racked up many player of the series awards in this format, too, had the timing been different.

Virat Kohli – T20Is

Kohli has claimed seven player of the series awards in T20I cricket. His closest rivals are Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Australian batter David Warner with five each.

It’s well worth noting that Kohli hasn’t just been strong in T20I competition. He has a solid split of player of the series awards elsewhere, too. It’s three in Tests and 11 in ODIs.

He has retired from T20 cricket, so won’t be adding to that tally, and time will tell if he bothers with more ODI cricket. But Test cricket remains a happy hunting ground for the India talisman, who’ll be determined to fetch more player of the series awards in the longest format of the international game.

Read next: 4 players have now hit back-to-back centuries in T20I cricket

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The leading run-scorers for each country among the ICC’s top 9

Kusal Perera recently overtook Tillakaratne Dilshan as Sri Lanka’s leading run-scorer in T20I cricket. Perera has been relatively prolific for his country in this format of the international game for an extended period.

Others have done the same, too, including Ireland’s Paul Stirling and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, but those small countries are not necessarily among the top nine in the International Cricket Council’s rankings for T20I teams.

Let’s take a look at the leading run-scorers for each top nine country on the ICC’s team T20I rankings.

Rohit Sharma – India

One of only two men to have hit five centuries in T20I cricket, alongside Glenn Maxwell, Sharma is India’s top run-scorer in T20I cricket with 4,200-plus runs in 150-plus innings. His closest rival overall and for India is Virat Kohli.

Babar Azam – Pakistan

The man with the most fours in T20I cricket is also Pakistan’s top run-scorer in the format. Azam has amassed 4,100-plus runs in almost 120 innings in the shortest format of the international game. A lot of this was done while captaining the team, too.

Martin Guptill – New Zealand

Guptill effectively exited T20I cricket in 2022, but not before coming New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in T20I competition with 3,531 in 118 innings. Nowadays, he travels the world on short-term contracts in domestic T20 competitions such as the Pakistan Super League.

David Warner – Australia

Warner has been a household name in T20I cricket for many years. He is Australia‘s top run-scorer in the format despite having only scored one century. Warner batted in each one of the 110 T20Is he played until late November 2024.

Read more: These are the 9 biggest sixes in the history of cricket

Jos Buttler – England

Captain, wicketkeeper and main provider of top-order runs – the onus on Buttler to deliver on cue has been evident for a long time. And he has duly obliged as England’s top run-scorer in T20I cricket with more than 3,200 runs in nearly 120 innings.

Quinton de Kock – South Africa

De Kock has retired from Test cricket and done the same with ODI competition. Whether he will continue to play T20I cricket and add to his leading tally for South Africa remains in the balance. De Kock has hit 2,584 runs in 91 innings in this format.

Shakib Al Hasan – Bangladesh

As one of the top all-rounders in the format for several years, Al Hasan has ensured that his responsibility with the ball hasn’t necessarily taken away from his key contributions with the bat. He is Bangladesh‘s top T20I scorer with over 2,500 runs.

Nicholas Pooran – West Indies

Any player who has scored more T20I runs than countryman Chris Gayle deserves plenty of credit. Step up Pooran, who is the West Indies’ top run-scorer in T20I cricket. He has more than 2,200 T20I runs – and is still chasing a maiden ton in the format.

Kusal Perera – Sri Lanka

Perera, indeed, recently overtook Dilshan to become Sri Lanka’s top run-scorer in T20I cricket. Perera is closing in on 2,000 runs in the format. He’s also still waiting on a maiden T20I century.

Read next: 4 players have now hit back-to-back centuries in T20I cricket

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