The batsman who scored the fastest century in his last test broke Richards’ record.

New Delhi. Test cricket may be called a game of patience, but batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum are credited for making it exciting. He brought back the excitement in Test cricket, which was considered boring, with explosive batting and brought the spectators who were moving away from this format back to the stadium. His innings studded with fours and sixes proved to be a ‘full dose’ of entertainment for cricket lovers.

In all three formats, Test, ODI and T20, these batsmen scored runs at a tremendous strike rate and were synonymous with fear for the opposition bowlers. Among these four batsmen, McCullum played as a wicketkeeper batsman. Even though he did not get popularity like Viru, Afridi and Gayle, McCullum took New Zealand cricket to new heights with his batting and captaincy. Popularly known as ‘Bazz’, McCullum scored at a strike rate of 64.60 in Tests, 96.37 in ODIs and 136.21 in T20Is.

The fastest century in Test cricket in terms of balls is in the name of McCullum. Generally, the performance of most batsmen starts declining in the last phase of their cricket career, but McCullum became the fastest batsman in Test cricket in his last international match itself. In his last Test in February 2016, he scored a century in just 54 balls and took the record of West Indies’ great batsman Viv Richards (1985-86) and Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq (2014-15) of century in 56 balls.

‘Nobody becomes Virat just like that’, ‘King Kohli’s bat roars in T20 WC

Had completed the century in just 54 balls
McCullum played the last match of his Test career against Australia in Christchurch. Although New Zealand had to face defeat by 7 wickets in this test, McCullum said goodbye to international cricket with pride keeping his head held high. Batting first, New Zealand scored 370 runs in the first innings in which McCullum alone contributed 145 runs. He scored these 145 runs in just 79 balls with the help of 21 fours and six sixes (strike rate 183.54). During this memorable inning, he completed 50 runs in 34 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes, after which he scored the next 50 runs in just 20 balls and created a new record of century in 54 balls in the Test. 88 runs of his century, decorated with 16 fours and four sixes, came through boundaries only.

Cricketers whose careers ended due to injury or health reasons, one was the captain of India.

In reply to New Zealand’s 370 runs, Australia’s first innings ended at 505 runs in which opener Joe Burns contributed 170 runs and Steve Smith contributed 138 runs. After trailing by 135 runs, New Zealand scored 335 runs in the second innings and set a target of 201 runs for Australia to win, which the Kangaroo team achieved by losing three wickets with the help of Joe Burns’ 65 runs.

Scored runs in all three formats
McCullum was successful in all three formats of cricket. He has 6453 runs (12 centuries) in 101 Tests at an average of 38.64, 6083 runs (5 centuries) in 260 ODIs at an average of 30.41 and 2140 runs (2 centuries) in 71 T20Is at an average of 35.66. He hit 107 sixes in Test cricket, 200 in ODI and 91 sixes in T20I, which shows his fearless attitude against the bowlers. In Test cricket, McCullum is the second batsman in terms of sixes after England’s Ben Stokes. The first century in T20I was scored by Chris Gayle while the second century in this format came from the bat of McCullum. On 28 February 2010 in Christchurch, McCullum scored unbeaten 116 runs in 56 balls with the help of 12 fours and eight sixes.

Batsmen who played 80+ innings in ODI, neither 4 nor 6, still remained man of the match.

The only New Zealand batsman to score a triple century in Tests
McCullum is the only New Zealand batsman to score a triple century in Test cricket. He scored this century against India in Wellington in February 2014. During New Zealand’s second innings, McCullum scored 302 runs in 559 balls with the help of 32 fours and four sixes. It was a miracle of his innings that the Kiwi team, which was trailing by 246 runs on the basis of first innings, was successful in drawing the test. During his innings of 302 runs, McCullum remained at the crease for 775 minutes. This is the 9th longest innings of test cricket. Apart from Brendon, his elder brother Nathan McCullum has also played international cricket for New Zealand as an off-spinner.

Sandpaper, dust, mint and ‘mouthwork’… many famous cricketers of the world including India are involved in ball tampering.

McCullum had scored the first century of IPL.
McCullum was not only a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2008 to 2018, but the first century of this Indian T20 league is in his name. In the very first match of the first season of IPL, he played an unbeaten inning of 158 runs with the help of 10 fours and 13 sixes in 73 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which was more than Chris Gayle’s 175 runs. This is the second highest individual score in IPL after (IPL 2013). McCullum, who has played for KKR, CSK, RCB and KTK (Kochi Tuskers Kerala) in the IPL, scored 881 runs in 109 matches at a strike rate of 131.61, including two centuries. Even in T20 International, the highest score as a wicketkeeper batsman is in the name of McCullum. In September 2012, he scored 123 runs with the help of 11 fours and 7 sixes in 58 balls against Bangladesh in Palikale, which is till now the top score of any wicketkeeper batsman in T20I.

tag: Brendon McCullum, new zealand, test cricket, Vivian Richards