5 most spectacular ODI batting performances of 2018

#4. Tony Ura’s 151 from the team total of 235 in the World Cup Qualifiers

Tony Ura played a legendary knock against IRE

The World Cup Qualifier held in Zimbabwe in March provided us with a glimpse of the rich talents present in the Associate cricket nations. One of the gems unearthed in the competition was the Papua New Guinea opener Tony Ura. The PNG region has a long historical tradition of cricket but this knock from the opener caused the world to take its notice.

When Papua New Guinea confronted Ireland in a group game, the Irish nation was expected to walk over the weaker side. Six out of the top seven batsmen form PNG returned for a single digit score and the team was struggling at 80/6. However, the opener Tony Ura at the other end was determined to see this through.

In an exceptional display of batting skills, Ura single-handedly carried the Papuan team score past 200. He almost carried the bat in the effort and was dismissed on the third ball of the 50th over.

Ura scored 151 from 142 balls with 10 fours and six sixes while rest of his teammates accounted for only 74 runs. Him scoring 64.25% of the team total is the fourth-highest individual percentage in ODI cricket after Viv Richards, Kapil Dev and Rohit Sharma. Ireland managed to win the encounter by four wickets.