Happy Birthday Sanath Jayasuriya: Top moments from his iconic career

Sanath on his way to the fastest 50 of his time in ODIs, against Pakistan

#3. Fastest 50, 100, 150 in ODIs

Sanath Jayasuriya was the predecessor of South African legend Ab de Villiers, as the only person before him to hold all three records - fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODIs - before him. Though he eventually lost all three records to others who in turn lost it to de Villiers, it must be remembered that Sanath had these moments in the 1990s and 2000s, an era where field restrictions and new-balls were absent, making him one of the batsmen of all times.

Jayasuriya hit a 17-ball fifty in 1996 against Pakistan, which remained the record until de Villiers got there in 16 against West Indies in 2015. In the same tournament in 1996, Jayasuriya became the first man to score an ODI ton in under 50 balls —getting to the milestone in 48, also making him the fastest to get to a ton, in terms of the number of balls faced. Since then, the record fell to Shahid Afridi (37 balls) and later Corey Anderson (36 balls), before de Villiers claimed it with a 31-ball ton, the same game where he made the fastest 50.

In 2006, Jayasuriya got to his 150 off only 95 balls against England, which was the fastest 150 at the time. Shane Watson bettered it by getting there in 83 balls against Bangladesh in 2011. De Villiers though had the last laugh as he achieved the mark in 64 balls against the West Indies at Sydney this year.

The numbers, which are excellent even by today's standards, hold testimony to the heavy influence that Jayasuriya had with the bat in his time.