Sanath Jayasuriya changed the way One-Day International cricket was played with his fearless and explsoive brand of batting as an opener.
His swashbuckling style of batting at the top of the order was one of the many reasons why Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup.
However, his most destructive innings followed their World Cup triumph as Sri Lanka faced Pakistan in the Singer Cup in Singapore.
In the first game of the tournament, Jayasuriya was at his devastating best as he took apart every Pakistani bowler.
He smashed 11 sixes and 11 fours to bring up his century in just 48 deliveries at a strike rate of 206.5. He finished with 134 off 65 deliveries as Sri Lanka posted a mammoth 349/9.
Aamer Sohail was at the receiving end of Jayasuriya’s onslaught as he conceded 30 runs in a single over, a world record at the time.
There were a few more records that were broken that day all thanks to the flamboyant Sri Lankan opener.
Jayasuriya’s 100 off 48 deliveries was the fastest ever in any form of cricket at the time. His 11 sixes were also the most by a batsman in a game beating Gordon Greenidge’s previous record of 8.
Despite a huge target, Pakistan tried to make a game out of it. Their valiant chase fell short by 34 runs but it did lead to a record for most runs scored in an ODI game.
Although all of those records have been broken, Jayasuriya’s knock was indeed a path-breaker at the time.
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