Five Selfish Innings Ever Played in World Cricket

Having a bit of selfishness is the hallmark of a batsman. But, when it touches a bit high, the scene emerge as ugly and as bizarre as possible. Over the years, we came across players knocking sublime tallies when it mattered the most. But, there are also players who tried to score for self-positives who were eventually ended receiving flak from the spectators. Including the legends of the game finds a place in the list.

Here are the five selfish innings ever played in the World Cricket:

5. David Warner’s 100 off 142 balls in 2012 CB series Final:

The swashbuckling opening batsman David Warner is the who found a place in the list. The stylish southpaw once played a selfish knock, and the reason behind it has never been out by Warner or from the dugout.

The classy stroke-player was fresh from scoring 163 in the previous game. But, surprisingly, he registered the century at a poor strike-rate.

In his 142-ball knock, Warner was able to find only four boundaries and a solitary six.

Though the experts felt the pitch has been sluggish during Warner’s knock, the then skipper, Michael Clarke smashed a quality 117 from just 91 balls. The slow innings from Warner saw Australia to post only 271 on the board despite losing only three wickets.

In reply to the chase, Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed a sublime ton while Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene registered match-winning fifties.

All in all, in the end, the century by Warner went in vain.

4. Sri Lanka’s Michael Vandort 48 from 117 in 2006 VB Series:

Michael Vandort, probably, none of the spectators would remind his name unless they visited the stadium during Vandort’s debut. He has played one of the bizarre knocks in One-day International history.

The left-handed batsman made his debut for Sri Lanka in 2006 VB Series. Then after, he was never picked in any format of the game for his selfish innings. He scored 48 off 117 balls while chasing a score of over 300.

Batting first, the hosts Australians notched up to a colossal 318 for five from their 50 overs thus asking the visitors to score runs more than six per over.

Vandort, however, had other ideas and proceeded to play one of the most selfish and strange innings in ODI cricket. He nudged and nurdled to 48, hitting a mere three fours, and when he was finally run out after 35 overs at the crease.

Despite losing the game with a significant margin, the visitors managed to knock out South Africans in the tri-series to reach final. However, Australians once again got better of Islanders.

3. Jacques Kallis’ 48 off 63 balls against Australia in 2007 World Cup:

The experienced Jacques Kallis also finds a place in the list. Though the 48-run knock off 63 balls is a decent knock considering a decade ago, the timing of that knock hasn’t been that great.

When the South Africans looked like doing something special to knock down the Australian side in ICC World Cup 2017, the helping hand from Kallis saw the right side of the coin of Aussie.

In the first innings of the game, a brutal Matthew Hayden’s hundred powered the team to a formidable 377. Despite having the mountain to climb, openers Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers were cutting the target down to size.

When AB de Villiers was out in search of quick runs, Kallis walked in at No. 3. Instead of carrying the momentum, he approached the target in a cautious way which was the least requirement.

Kallis was finally dismissed with just 41 deliveries remaining; the asking rate had doubled. All of the early momenta had been lost, and South Africa ended up falling 84 runs short of victory.

However, it would have been a different scenario if Kallis approached the game a bit dominating way.

2. Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th century against Bangladesh:

Sachin Tendulkar’s failure to knock off the final hundred to complete the milestone had become the topic of conversation every time he came out to bat.

It is perhaps unsurprising that when he did get there, it was courtesy of a grinding ordeal rather than a fitting decoration to his great feat.

The glorious feat of the Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar has come at a wrong time. The sterling Tendulkar was waiting for his 100th ton for a long time which finally came in the 2012 Asia Cup.

The classy stroke player toiled hard to get 114 runs from 147 deliveries which are almost half of India’s innings thus leaving the rest to try and boost the side to a winning score. However, the rest of the batting line-up batted well to reach India to a competitive tally of 289 runs.

In reply to India’s tally, the collective batting effort from Bangladesh batsmen saw India losing the game convincingly. It was a big upset as the minnow-tagged Bangladesh left Indians stranded.

1. Sunil Gavaskar’s  unbeaten 36* off 174 balls in 1975 World Cup:

The all-time great Sunil Gavaskar has been the master blaster for India over the years. But all the respect he earned has vanished in one knock. It was his most bizarre innings in his glittering international career.

In the first-ever World Cup in International cricket. But, none would have expected such a knock from Sunil Gavaskar. All of a sudden, the young hero of India became a villain.

It was when England was taking on India at Lord’s in June 1975 in a 60-over ODI, and the hosts build up a towering 334-4.  Considering the conditions and the boundary sizes, it was a stunning effort by the team.

In reply to the chase, Sunil Gavaskar never tried to go after the chase. Instead, he preferred a cautious approach playing the maiden after maiden. He finished with an unbeaten 36* runs off 174 balls.

Sunil Gavaskar notched up only one boundary in his bizarre knock. India ended up with only 132 runs for three wickets, resulting in a mighty 202-run win for England.