It was an innings which changed One Day International cricket forever. Twenty years ago, on October 4, 1996, a young Pakistani cricketer was making his batting debut against Sri Lanka, the world champions at that point of time. The 16-year-old Shahid Afridi arrived in Kenya, after travelling across four countries for the quadrangular series. He had not got a chance to bat in his first game. Little did he know that when he got his chance, he would leave the entire cricketing world chanting his name.
If there was ever a list of the top 10 outstanding innings in cricket, Afridi's breath-taking knock would easily occupy pride of place. At Nairobi's Gymkhana Cricket Ground, he hammered a record-breaking century of 37 deliveries against Sri Lanka.
Afridi came in at No. 3 as a pinch-hitter after Saleem Elahi was out for 23 with the scoreboard reading 60/1. With Saeed Anwar at one end, a nervous Afridi took his stance and played an innings that changed the way people looked at ODI cricket.
Afridi took 37 balls to get to his maiden hundred, 11 fewer than the record set by Sanath Jayasuriya six months earlier.
His 11 sixes equalled Jayasuriya's record for most sixes in an ODI innings. It was a small ground, but Afridi's sixes would have cleared most international grounds around the world. Pakistan scored 371 which was then the second-highest ODI total ever, with Anwar also smashing 115. However, the day belonged to Afridi who also bowled 10 overs for figures of 1/43. Eventually, Sri Lanka lost by 82 runs with Waqar Younis taking 5/52.
