I scored my first century with Sachin Tendulkar’s bat, reveals Shahid Afridi
In his autobiography titled ‘Game Changer’, Shahid Afridi has revealed that he scored his first international century with a bat that was previously owned by Sachin Tendulkar. Afridi scored a 37-ball ton against Sri Lanka which was the fastest century to be scored in the ODI format at that time.
Shahid Afridi burst onto the international cricketing scene back in 1996 as he was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996–97 as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed. The all-rounder made his ODI debut against Kenya in the first match of the tournament but Afridi’s moment of glory came in the second match against Sri Lanka. Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter and went on to break the record for the fastest century in ODIs as he reached the milestone in just 37 balls.
In his recent tell-all book titled ‘Game Changer’, Afridi revealed that his iconic innings against Sri Lanka was scored using a bat that was previously owned by Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian legend had given his favourite bat to Waqar Younis to take to Sialkot and get a custom-made one made at the famous sports goods manufacturing capital.
"But guess what Waqar did before he took it to Sialkot? He gave it to me, before I went in to bat. So effectively, that first century in Nairobi by Shahid Afridi was made with Sachin Tendulkar's best bat. Go figure. 'I had a dream that I was slamming Jayasuriya and Muralitharan and Dharmasena for sixes,' I said. 'Big, huge sixes.' 'Let's pray it happens, brother,' said Shadab'," Afridi wrote in his autobiography.
Afridi's innings included a record 11 sixes and six boundaries and came at a blistering strike rate of 255. Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs as the Pakistan skipper was named man of the match.
"For the record, I was just nineteen, and not sixteen like they claim. I was born in 1975. So, yes, the authorities stated my age incorrectly," Afridi added.
Incidentally, some cricket websites claim that Afridi was born in 1980. However, if he revealed that he was actually born in 1975 then he was not 19 but 21 when he scored that memorable knock against the Lankans on October 4, 1996.
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