Milestone games usually place cricketers under pressure. There will be expectations on them to make these matches special by delivering a good performance. This could sometimes backfire and make them vulnerable to a poor show. However, there have been a few cricketers who stepped up to the task in their milestone game. In fact, a few of them happened to play this match against India, and they came out with a memorable display. On that note, in the below headings, we look at four players who scored a century against India in their 100th ODI.
1) Chris Cairns (New Zealand) – 115 (80)
Venue: Christchurch || Year: 1999
New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns is the second cricketer in the history of the game, after Gordon Greenidge, to hit a hundred in their 100th ODI encounter in men’s cricket. The Kiwi all-rounder achieved the feat against Team India.
New Zealand had to win the final game of the series to level it. Hence, they were under pressure and needed a good performance. Cairns score a quickfire hundred, a knock that included seven sixes and seven fours. He also took a wicket, later on, to help his team emerge victorious.
2) Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies) – 115 (119)*
Venue: Basseterre || Year: 2006
Ramnaresh Sarwan is also one of the players who scored a century against India in their 100th ODI. In the five-match ODI series between the teams, India won the first encounter while the hosts won the second. Therefore, the third game was important as it could hand crucial momentum to the winning team.
Ramnaresh Sarwan is an underrated ODI cricketer. In 181 matches, he scored 5804 runs at an average close to 42. In his 100th game, he scored a hundred. The team was chasing a total of 246. It was an easy target considering the form that West Indies was in. Sarwan had a brilliant outing as he helped his team cross the line. The match came down to the last over but Sarwan’s effort had set up the platform for the hosts’ victory.
3) David Warner (Australia) – 124 (119)
Venue: Bengaluru || Year: 2017
It was a five-match ODI series between the two teams back in 2017. The first three games were all won by the Indians. Hence, the Aussies were under serious pressure of conceding a whitewash.
However, opener David Warner had different ideas. Having played a lot of cricket in India, he was brilliant on the batter friendly wicket in Bengaluru. Incidentally, he was also playing his 100th ODI match. The southpaw scored a hundred, a knock that included 12 fours and 4 sixes. The opening partnership with Aaron Finch was worth 231 runs. Australia posted a total of 334 and India could respond with only 313 runs.
4) Shai Hope (West Indies) – 115 (135)
Venue: Trinidad || Year: 2022
Shai Hope is the latest entrant to this list of players who scored a century against India in their 100th ODI. West Indies cricket has seen a lot of players in and out of the squad for various reasons in recent years. However, opener Shai Hope is one player who represented them consistently in this turbulent period.
In the second ODI of the 2022 series, Hope played his 100th 50-over match. It was a memorable game for him as he scored a brilliant hundred. Although he started slow, he made amends in the end. It was an important knock as his team could post a stiff target of 312 for the Indians. Yet, it was the visitors who won the match.
