It is not often we see an international century been hit on birthdays. Scoring a ton in any form of cricket in any conditions is not a piece of cake for a batsman. There are only a handful of famous cricketers who scored a century on their birthday. It is a rare occasion as all cricketers don’t get an opportunity to feel it.
Meanwhile, this milestone in cricket demands a long time concentration, dedication and technique. The batters need to resist quality bowlers who are always aiming to get the better of the opposition with one good delivery. There have been only a few instances when batsmen went on to make it big and achieved this remarkable feat to make their birthday a special one.
On that note, we take a look at the list of 5 famous cricketers who scored a century on their birthday:
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Sanath Jayasuriya
It was his 39th birthday when the Sri Lanka superstar Sanath Jayasuriya scored his 26th ODI ton. The occasion was the super four match of Asia Cup, 2008 when the swashbuckling opener completely destroyed Bangladesh bowling from the start of the innings itself and then went on to score 130 off 88 balls including 16 boundaries and six towering sixes.
The southpaw brought up his century only in 55 balls (fastest in the list). He along with Kumar Sangakkara added 201 runs for the first wicket to set the tone for the match. Sri Lanka comfortably won the match by a margin of 158 runs and reached the finals of the Asia cup again.
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4. Ross Taylor
This is the only birthday century that has been hit in an ICC World Cup match. The mighty New Zealand batsman, Ross Taylor started assaulting Pakistan bowling in the death overs as he along with Jacob Oram scored over 100 runs in the last 5 overs.
Taylor enjoyed his 27th birthday when he scored unbeaten 131 off 124 balls in Pallekele during the 2011 ICC World Cup. The Kiwi superstar struck eight boundaries and seven massive over-boundaries to post 302 runs in their full quota of 50 overs.
Pakistan succumbed to pressure to get all out for 192 runs; thus losing the match by a massive margin. Ross Taylor’s brutal hitting earned him the man of the match award.
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3. Vinod Kambli
This man from Mumbai – Vinod Kambli was the first cricketer to smash an ODI century on his birthday. This feat was achieved by him on his 21st birthday (youngest one in this list) when he scored an unbeaten century against England in Jaipur.
He along with his school friend, the little master Sachin Tendulkar added 164 for the 4th wicket stand. The swashbuckling left-handed batsman was unbeaten on 100 runs from 149 deliveries including nine boundaries and a solitary six.
However, Kambli’s century was not enough as England chased down the target with two overs to spare.
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2. Jason Gillespie
It is unbelievable that a genuine bowler could ever get to score a double-century and that on his birthday, which was also his last Test match. Yes, it was achieved by none other than the Australian pacer, Jason Gillespie on his 31st birthday. Australia were playing against Bangladesh in 2006 when Gillespie came to bat at No.3 as a night-watchman.
Then he scored a brilliant unbeaten 201 in the first innings to provide his team with a lead of 384 runs and perhaps this will go down as one of the best swansongs. Gillespie batted for 425 deliveries and 574 minutes hitting two sixes and 26 boundaries.
14 years and running, the record is still not broken.
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1. Sachin Tendulkar
The little master played a sensational innings at the Sharjah on his 25th birthday. The spectators were fortunate enough to witness such a batting performance by the batting genius. It was the Coca-Cola cup final and India were chasing 273 against the mighty Aussies.
Sachin went on to score a magnificent 134 off 131 balls guiding India to a six-wicket victory two days after the iconic desert-storm innings. He struck 12 boundaries and three sixes, one of which hit the roof of the stadium and was awarded the Man of the match and also Man of the series.
The Master Blaster never again batted on his birthday for India. He did bat twice in the IPL against Deccan Chargers in 2011 and against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2013 – turning out to be on the winning side on both those occasions as well.