New Delhi: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are set to co-host the only continental championship in cricket, Asia Cup 2023. The upcoming marquee event will commence from August 30 to September 17. The forthcoming tournament will be the 16th edition and the winner will be crowned the champions of Asia.
Fastest batter to score century
With some many legendary batter played the biggest cricket tournament in Asia, from Sachin Tendulkar to Sanath Jayasuriya, here are the top 5 batters, who smashed the fastest century in the continental tournament.
5. Sanath Jayasuriya (72 balls) vs Bangladesh, 1997
Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya is one of the most devastating openers of all time and the man who changed the mechanics of the opening match of ODI cricket in the 1990s. In the 1997 Asian Cup in Colombo, he scored a century from 72 balls against Bangladesh.
With the help of 14 fours and two sixes, Jayasuriya hit 180 runs in 83 balls, a 130 batting average that was rare at the time but a regular occurrence on Jayasuriya’s bat, and led Sri Lanka to a 103-run victory over Bangladesh. It was the fastest century in Asian Cup history, a record that stood for 11 years.
4. Shahid Afridi (68 balls) vs Sri Lanka, 2010
Then-Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi shined in the opening match of the 2010 Asian Cup at Dambulla with a 68-ball Century. He scored 109 runs off just 76 balls, making 8 boundaries and 7 maximum to reach the target of 243 runs. But after Afridi got out, Pakistan suffered a spectacular meltdown and lost by 16 runs.
3. Suresh Raina (66-ball) vs Hong Kong, 2008
Suresh Raina briefly held the record for the fastest player in Asian Cup history when he scored in triple figures in 66 balls against Hong Kong in the 2008 Asian Cup in Karachi. Raina’s century and MS Dhoni’s hundreds led India to a staggering 374 runs, while Hong Kong lost by a staggering 256 runs. Raina’s record was broken five days later at the same event.
2. Sanas Jayasuriya (55 balls) v Bangladesh, 2008
Jayarsuriya regained the 100 Asian Cup fastest record from Suresh Raina at the same event in 2008, just five days after Raina broke Jayasuriya’s record. Jayasurya vented his anger at the hapless Bangladesh’s bowlers in Karachi, hitting an astonishing hundred off just 55 balls, finishing 130 for 88 (147 batting average!) as Sri Lanka won by 158 points.
1. Shahid Afridi (53) Ball v Bangladesh, 2010
Pakistani swashbuckling hitter Shahid Afridi remains the fastest Asian Cup century record holder, hitting 100 in just 53 balls against Bangladesh in the 2010 Asian Cup at Dambulla. It was one of Afridi’s most brutal knocks, the right-arm all-rounder smacked 17 fours and 4 sixes, scoring 124 runs on 60 balls (206 strike rate!). Pakistan won by 139 runs.
