Six Instances In ODIs When Batsmen Scored A Hundred Coming To Bat After The 30th Over

One-day international (ODIs) cricket has transformed drastically over the years. With the advent of T20 cricket, while certain teams have managed to get themselves off to a blazing start, it has also resulted in their downfalls. Nevertheless, it has to be a remarkable transition from the times when sides used to play cautiously from the outset.

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And there’s one other facet to this. As much as batsmen have blazed away in the first 20 overs, in those final 20 overs too, the batters have ramped up the scoring rate significantly. In a handful of instances, lower-order batsmen have smashed centuries, coming to bat after the 30th over. Perhaps, they did precisely what their team needed at that point.

We take a look at six instances in ODIs when batsmen clubbed a hundred after coming to bat in the 30th over:

Ab de Villiers – 32.6, 102*:

The 2010 ODI series between India and South Africa was one of the most entertaining ones. In the first ODI, Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell’s partnership of 65 brought them to the doorstep of a stunning win before losing it by one run. In the second ODI, Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsmen to score a double-hundred as India won by 153 runs.

The Proteas comfortably won the dead rubber in Ahmedabad. Led by the stand-in-captain Jacques Kallis, South Africa already set the tone. Loots Bosman and Hashim Amla put 113 for the first wicket before Kallis blazed away. As Amla fell in 33rd over for 87, it was a perfect time for Ab de Villiers to step in.

The Pretoria-born did not spare the Indian bowling attack. De Villiers catapulted the tourists to an imposing 365 in 50 overs. He finished with an unbeaten 102 off 59 deliveries while the captain ended with 104 as they lost only two wickets. Their winning margin was a whopping 90 runs.

Ab de Villiers – 38.4, 149:

Ab de Villiers batted like a man possessed on the 18th of January 2015 in Johannesburg. It was an unforgettable day for the fans and a forgettable one for the West Indies. By the time Rilee Rossouw departed for 128, Hashim Amla had also reached his three-figure mark and sky was the only limit for the Proteas when the captain arrived in the 39th over.

Ab de Villiers relentlessly attacked the West Indian bowlers, carting 16 sixes all around the park. In the process, he smashed a 16-ball fifty, 31-ball century – all world records. He departed in the last over, making 149 off 44 deliveries as South Africa smashed a record 439, their highest total in ODIs.

Glenn Maxwell – 31.6, 102:

Glenn Maxwell was Australia’s trump card during the 2015 World Cup, often turning the game with his dynamism across all facets. And it was during the match against Sri Lanka in Sydney in that tournament when Glenn Maxwell brought his first and only ODI hundred till date. After the openers departed for low scores, Steve Smith and Michael Clarke built a 134-run stand.

As Australia suddenly found themselves at 177-4 in the 33rd over, Glenn Maxwell launched an onslaught. He treated both the spinners and pace bowlers with disdain, bringing a century off 51 balls. Shane Watson also got into the act with 67 off 41 deliveries while Brad Haddin finished the innings with a quick-fire 25 to guide Australia to 376. The hosts won the game by 64 runs eventually.

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Jos Buttler – 35.4, 116*:

Over the last few years, Jos Buttler has emerged as a fearsome striker of the ball. The opposition hardly gets any breathing space after taking five wickets as Jos Buttler is ready to plant them down the mat with his fearless strokeplay. However, against Pakistan in 2015 in Dubai, the keeper-batsman batted at number four, given the situation.

The tourists lost Jason Roy for a century in the 36th over. With this, Morgan sent Buttler ahead of himself and gave him the license to go ballistic. He scored a hundred off 46 balls in 49th over as England reached 355 for the loss of five scalps. England comfortably clinched the game by 84 runs.

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Moeen Ali – 32.4, 102:

Moeen Ali’s century in Bristol against the West Indies in 2017 was one of his five in his ODI career. England only had two half-centuries in their top six with Eoin Morgan bagging a golden duck and Jos Buttler perishing for a couple. When Moeen Ali arrived at number seven, England had lost all their ammo.

At the 33rd over with 210 on the board for five wickets with little recognition amongst batsmen, England were looking at 250-270. But Ali announced himself, plundering a 53-ball hundred that came in the 47th over. It was also the second-fastest hundred for England in ODIs as the hosts reached 369, emerging victorious by 124 runs.

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Jos Buttler – 35.2, 110*:

By the time Pakistan toured England in May 2019 for the limited-overs leg, the hosts were the firm favourites to win the World Cup. England were nicely building themselves up to lift their first World Cup two months later and Jos Buttler was central to their four-year plan. The hosts’ penchant for putting on massive totals and chasing them with equal ease was the bedrock of their plans.

On this occasion in Southampton, Buttler entirely stole the show in a high-scoring game. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow put 115 for the opening wicket in less than 20 overs after which Joe Root steadied the ship. The departure of Root’s stay of 54 balls for 40 runs brought in Buttler, batting at number five as Morgan kept the scoring rate up from the other end.

The keeper-batsman clubbed a hundred off 50 deliveries in the 49th over off Hasan Ali. He remained unbeaten on 110 off 55 deliveries while Morgan on 71 off 48 deliveries. The home side reached 373; however, Pakistan fell only 12 runs short of the daunting target. Unfortunately, none of the lower-order batsmen could support Fakhar Zaman’s 138 off 106 deliveries.

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