7 players who enjoyed a great run of form after turning 35

Time is a fickle mistress, they say. In sport, time is as slippery as a rattlesnake, slithering away, painfully, one day at a time. In case of cricketers, it is one game at a time, or sometimes, one season at a time.Many a great players smelt the earth, as age caught up with them, their arrogance grinded away in the wheels of time, their reflexes numbed with the heroin of grey hair. Runs stop flowing, wickets stop coming. Batsmen feel the ball whizzing more often past them.Bowlers feel the fizz disappearing quickly more often. Sport is cruel to aging greats. Their genius fades with time and their sublime skills look like out of tune instruments. Some walk away into the twilight, some are nudged into it by their Boards and even fans.That is why it is worth celebrating that rare club of sportsmen who battled age with experience and wisdom and ended on a high, quite literally. These were sportsmen who achieved phenomenal numbers after turning 35, turning back the clock, making the world and youth sit up and take notice, almost declaring, class is permanent.Here we take a look at seven outstanding ODI players who breezed past 35 without a break in their performances. Mind you, there are many who haven't made the list, like Imran Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Zaheer Abbas, Sunil Gavaskar, Brad Hogg and Gordon Greenidge, although these legends of the game are not way too far behind!

#7 Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah established himself in the side after turning 35

A dasher early on, Misbah resurrected his career, almost against the tide of time, standing like a Hercules amidst the ruins of Pakistan cricket and warring season after season to bring it back to its glory days.

Misbah led Pakistan, by example, through some of its toughest years in international cricket, rock solid in victory, calm in defeats and sincere in his attempts. The man who led Pakistan to the 2011 World Cup semi-final, Misbah played 111 out of his 162 ODIs after turning 35, hitting 34 out of his 42 fifties during that time period.

Known for his calm head, Misbah who became leader of the side at 36, was one of the fittest players in the team, nurturing a young band of cricketers over half a decade leaving Pakistan a much better side.

He mentored younger players like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad, ensuring the ODI side is stronger for his leadership. Also, it was a sign of his experience that Misbah managed 21 out of his 31 not-outs after turning 35.

#6 Sanath Jayasuriya

Age never slowed him down

Sri Lanka’s talismanic opener threatened the double century at one point missing out narrowly. A classic example of someone who hung out for a really long time, Jayasuriya played seven years of active cricket, after turning 35.

During that period, Jayasuriya played 126 innings, scoring 4142 runs, with an average and strike-rate a good four points above his career stats. Jayasuriya was one of the most prolific ODI all-rounders of all time and it was like he just didn’t want to slow down with 70 wickets putting him fourth on the list of highest wicket-takers after turning 35.

The half-centurion in the final of the 2007 World Cup also had a prolific year at the IPL before eventually hanging up his boots.

#5 Glenn McGrath

McGrath won the player of the tournament award at the age of 37 in a World Cup

Of all the things one can do after turning 35, fast bowling is by far the toughest. The strain it puts on your knees especially along with the rest of the body is painful. Yet Glenn McGrath capped off a brilliant ODI career on a high winning Man of the Series in the 2007 World Cup, ending up as a winner.

He has 75 wickets in 49 games after turning 35 at an average of 21 and economy of 3.88 eerily close to his career numbers. Even the number of wickets per game remain almost the same before and after 35 and so does his strike-rate.

McGrath played two years after turning 35 before hanging up his boots and is only next to Muralitharan in terms of wickets after turning 35. McGrath also holds the record for most wickets in a World Cup, creating that piece of history in the 2007 World Cup in West Indies at the age of 37.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar

A double hundred at 37

Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest ODI batsmen ever. Period. The numbers he raked up in ODI cricket with his bat are staggering. The man with more than 18000 runs in ODI cricket, way ahead of his nearest counterpart, Ricky Ponting in number of runs or centuries didn’t play a lot of ODI cricket after turning 35 appearing selectively and focusing on Test cricket.

Yet, it is after turning 35 that Sachin became the first man to score a double century in an ODI. He also won the World Cup at the age of 38, going on to make his 100th 100 against Bangladesh in an ODI.

Sachin’s 2065 runs in just 46 games came at an average of 49, five points above his career average of 44 and at a strike-rate of 92, six points above his career strike-rate of 86, showing age had neither dulled his appetite nor his skill. In 45 innings, Sachin managed a staggering 7 centuries along with seven half-centuries as well with only Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayasuriya scoring more tons.

#3 Mutthiah Muralitharan

He took 87 wickets after turning 35

He has more wickets than any bowler after turning 35 – 87 in 55 innings. He also has way more four wicket hauls during that time than any – six, two of which are five wicket hauls.

The man who played two back to back World Cup finals for Sri Lanka after turning 35, in 2007 and 2011, Muralitharan is only next to McGrath when it comes to wickets in World Cup. With a measly economy of 4.4 and an average of 24, Muralitharan was Sri Lanka’s best ODI bowler with boots that have still not been replaced.

A veteran of more than 300 games, Muralitharan also played several seasons of IPL before hanging up his boots with only four bowlers with a lower average than him, whilst having taken 50 ODI wickets after turning 35.

#2 Kumar Sangakkara

Wonder why Sanga retired post the World Cup

The only player to score four successive ODI centuries and that too at a World Cup, Kumar Sangakkara is a legend of the game, who might make it even to the all-time ODI World XI. The classy left-hander, with great cricketing nous played 71 games after turning 35, retiring after the 2015 World Cup while still at the peak, while still being the best batsman in the side, mark of a true champion.

Sangakkara has the highest average after turning 35 amongst all players with more than 500 runs, a whopping 57.49. Only Matthew Hayden and Zaheer Abbas have averaged more than 50 after turning 35, while also having scored more than a thousand runs.

Sangakkara’s 3392 runs place him fourth on the list behind Dilshan, Jayasuriya and Misbah. That average of 57 is way ahead of the ODI average across his entire career, a lowly 42.

Interestingly, during this prolific purple patch, Sanga has scored his runs at a strike-rate of 91 way above his career strike-rate of 79 showing how he has changed his game and adapted to the demands and rigours of an ever-changing format. 31 out of his 118 fifty-plus scores have come during this period as well, including his highest score of 169.

#1 Tillakaratne Dilshan

Dilshan re-invented himself post 2009

The man who recently joined the 10000 ODI runs’ club is also one of the most prolific run-scorers in ODI cricket over the last couple of years. At 38, he is one of the oldest international cricketers, but at the top of the order, is irreplaceable for Sri Lanka, especially after the departure of the two stalwarts, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

Dilshan, who averages 39.71 in ODIs overall has averaged 47.72 since turning 35, scoring 12 of his 22 ODI centuries during the four-year period. Most importantly, Dilshan has the most runs for a player over 35 in ODIs, a whopping 4391 runs in 103 innings, with a fifty-plus score once every three games.

The man who also scored his highest individual score of 161 during this period has scored close to 50% of his half-centuries in the last four years. There is the small matter of 41 out of his 104 ODI wickets as well; a late bloomer who has really made his time count!