Top 6 ODI centuries in a losing cause

Big knocks! But of no useCricket sure is a funny game. It has happened on countless occasions that even some of the best individual performances of all time have not been able to secure a win for the team, simply because the other team emerged better in the end.Sachin Tendulkar, who has played the highest number of ODIs till date and has the record of most ODI runs under his belt, also holds the record for most runs (6585) and the most number of centuries (14) in a losing cause, out of his total tally of 18426 ODI runs and 49 ODI centuries.If a player scores a century and the team loses, we can be sure that the match witnessed some brilliant cricket being played, more so from the winning side, that had to bounce back after the damage caused by the ton being scored.Here are 6 such instances where batsmen came up with brilliant knocks of over a 100 runs but could not ensure victory for their teams, and the viewers took back an amazing game of cricket.

#6 Rohit Sharma\'s 150 vs South Africa in Kanpur 2015

Rohit Sharma overshadowed AB de Villiers’ century

Rohit Sharma’s century against the Proteas was a retort to AB De Villiers’ ton in the same match. Rohit gave AB De Villiers a hysterical challenge as he smashed the South African pace attack, all over the park.

The only player with the record of holding two double centuries in ODI’s put on quite a show. He showcased a number of shots from his ever-expanding repertoire.

South Africa elected to face first on a batting-friendly pitch and managed to put up a total of 303, which was more than enough to keep the Indian batting line-up busy. The skipper, ABD, showed his authority by scoring a stellar 104 of just 73 balls, which made sure South Africa jump over the mark of 300.

Rohit Sharma posed several questions for the men in green and yellow as he bludgeoned the Proteas bowling unit to achieve his fourth 150 of his career. He took 133 balls to score the same.

However Kagiso Rabada’s tactical last over forced MS Dhoni and Stuart Binny mistimed their hits, which in-turn saw India fall five runs from their target.

#5 Ricky Ponting\'s 164 vs South Africa in Johannesburg, 2006

Punter’s big knock

This was a match that will find a mention every time great team batting displays will be talked about. This game, in fact, had two of them – the two highest team scores in an ODI ever were both crafted in this single game played at the Wanderers stadium.

Ponting, the captain, led the scoring after coming in to bat at 97/1 when the Aussies were going at almost 6 an over. He was definitely not satisfied with it.

Along with Katich who was playing a steady hand, he built a 2nd wicket stand worth 119 off 93 balls and proceeded to further accelerate in the next partnership with Hussey that added 150 in almost as many balls.

Even after he got out, Symonds partnered with Brett Lee, and together the Australians put up the highest one-day score by any team ever, a total of 434.

The last 10 overs yielded 133 runs, with 72 of them coming off the last 5. No bowler had an economy of below 7. Ponting hit Ntini for 3 and Kallis for 4 sixes, with a majority of them coming over mid-wicket and deep square leg.

He favoured the on-side for scoring his runs, getting more than 100 of them in that region in an innings that lasted just 105 balls.

Nothing could have prepared the world for what was about to happen. Australia would have definitely felt their score was defendable, having scored at more than 8 an over.

Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs had other ideas. Gibbs bettered Ponting’s effort, scoring a thunderous 175 (111 balls, 21×4, 7×6) that really left no options to Australia.

South Africa won with 1 wicket remaining and 1 ball remaining in the innings. Gibbs and Ponting were jointly given the Man of the Match award.

#4 Rohit Sharma\'s 171* vs Australia in Perth, 2016

Rohit’s record-breaking knock was in vain

Much like Sachin did, Rohit Sharma seems to be getting a knack for scoring big scores in losing causes. The first ODI which India lost against Australia was the second time in the space of a few months that Rohit had a score of 150 or more and still ended up in the losing side.

His 171* created and broke a slew of records, including the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia. His knock, which helped India put up their highest total in Australia against the Aussies, included 13 fours and seven sixes.

His second-wicket partnership with Virat Kohli, which was worth 207, helped India post 309/3, which at the time looked like a match-winning score.

But twin centuries from Steve Smith and George Bailey on a flat pitch ensured Australia extended their winning streak at home to 15, despite an inexperienced bowling attack.

#3 Sachin Tendulkar\'s 175 vs Australia in Hyderabad, 2009

Tendulkar’s heroic in vain

This was a real heartbreak for all the Indians. This gets the top spot because this century came while chasing, a target of 350 set by the Aussies.

Sachin, a single man, scored half the runs in less than half the balls (141). Still, the team could not get over the line, and were all out 3 runs shy of the target with 2 balls left in the innings.

The main culprit was the rest of the team, and still people have the audacity of blaming Sachin for not having led the team all the way. The same goes for the 13 other occasions where Sachin scored a ton and India lost the game.

Shouldn’t the other players be blamed for the dismal performance that they must have come up with to end up on the losing side even after they had a Sachin ton to back them? But that is not how it is. People will blame Sachin. For God knows what reason.

Sachin’s was the 7th wicket to fall, and even then India could have won easily, with 19 required off 17. But some callous running between the wickets gave the opposition two wickets, and when Praveen Kumar was run out, it was curtains and Sachin’s century proved to be nothing but an effort in vain.

The trash talkers, who connect India’s losses to Sachin’s centuries (being blissfully unaware of the statistics), got some more masala to talk about, more so this time, as this was Sachin’s highest score in a losing cause.

As expected, Sachin was adjudged man of the match, with the only other good score in the innings coming of Raina’s bat who scored 59 and partnered with Tendulkar in a 137 run-stand for the 5th wicket. Sachin hit 19 fours and 4 sixes in his innings.

#2 Matthew Hayden\'s 181 vs New Zealand, 2007

Hayden’s Hamilton blast

This was as brutal an innings as you will ever see. With 11 fours and 10 thwacks of the bat that went for six, Hayden murdered the New Zealand bowlers, staying at the crease for the full duration of the innings and scoring the highest individual score by an Aussie.

The Aussies put up a promising 346 on the board, and would have thought the game was theirs when half the Kiwis were back in the hut with score reading only a 116. What caused the upset was the 165 run-stand between Craig McMillan (117 off 96) and Brendon McCullum (86 off 91) that followed, and the subsequent partnerships that McCullum managed to string together with the tail to get his team over the line with just 3 balls and a wicket remaining.

Hayden scored more than 100 of his runs on the on-side, with some special treatment for Jeetan Patel, who he hit for 5 towering hits between long-off and long-on.

He had to take a runner in the middle of his innings due to a toe injury, but that did not hamper his scoring as he chose to stand in his crease and dispatch the ball to the boundary.

Hayden was clearly playing to show the selectors, who had just given him a place in the squad. But his efforts were in vain at the end as New Zealand were able to get past the target to clinch the series 3-0. Hayden was man of the match.

#1 Charles Coventry\'s 194 vs Bangladesh, 2009

Coventry’s new world-record knock

This came as a lone contribution from the Zimbabwe player, as no one else managed to get runs in this particular match. Coventry walked in with the score at 5/1 and stayed not out when the team ended at 312 in the allotted 50 overs, only to score the highest score ever in a one-day for a losing cause.

The best partnership was that of 107 between him and Matsikenyeri who chipped in with the second best score of the innings, a mere 37.

Coventry’s innings lasted 156 balls, and he struck 16 fours and 7 sixes. He didn’t spare a single bowler who bowled to him, with some towering sixes in the long-on to mid-wicket region to Mahbubul Alam and even the captain Shakib Al Hasan who took a beating.

Coventry, who hadn’t scored an ODI century before, took advantage of the flatness of the wicket and piled up the runs. He accelerated after reaching his 100 while wickets kept tumbling at the other end.

Anyways, he would have thought that he had done enough when Zimbabwe put on 312, more than Bangladesh had ever chased before.

But it was not to be. The party was spoiled by a stunning 154 by Tamim Iqbal who fell when the score was already 279, and it was a matter of time before Bangladesh won by 4 wickets to give Zimbabwe one of the biggest upsets in their cricketing history.

Coventry was given the man of the match award.