5 Most Selfish Acts in History of ODI Cricket

Cricket is a team game and time and again the players have set an example by putting the interest of the team before themselves. There have been many instances when individuals have held themselves back to let their team reach the pinnacle of success.

However, the gentlemen’s game has also witnessed some ugly moments where the individuals put their team at stake to protect self-interest. There have been games where the players hampered their team’s chances of victory to reach a personal milestone. 

In this article, we have curated the five most selfish performances in the history of ODI cricket.

5. Sunil Gavaskar’s 36* (174), 1975 World Cup

The first name to make an appearance on the list is former Indian captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar. Featuring in the first-ever World Cup, Gavaskar played one of the most bizarre and controversial knocks of his otherwise illustrious ODI career. Get cricket prediction free from us.

During a league match between India and England, the Englishmen racked up a big total of 334 for four. In reply, India was hoping for a terrific knock from the opening batter. However, Gavaskar had some other plans as he stayed in the middle to his heart content.

The cricketer made no attempt to steer his team to victory as he faced a total of 174 balls to remain unbeaten at 36. Adding to the misery, he smashed just one boundary to hand England an easy victory. Playing complete 60 overs, India lost just three wickets but ended up with only 132 runs. 

4. David Warner’s 100 (140), CB Series Final 2012

Regarded as one of the best opening batters of all time, Australia’s David Warner holds the reputation of smashing the opposition all over the park on his day. Warner is majorly famous for his aggression and attractive strokeplay. It is hard to imagine the Australian star being accused of a low strike rate. 

However, it once happened and that too in the final. In the final of the 2012 Commonwealth Bank Series Final, Australia were up against Sri Lanka. Batting first, Australia were hoping for a massive score but David Warner denied such possibilities by playing one of the slowest knocks of his ODI career.

The batter scored just 100 runs in 140 balls to power Australia to a total of 271. The target was less considering the decorated batting line-up of the Sri Lankan side. The island nation easily won the game by eight wickets. 

3. Sachin Tendulkar’s  114 (147), Asia Cup 2012 

In his glorious international career, the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar hammered a lot of records to establish himself as the ‘God of Cricket’ in India. One record by Tendulkar that has been the benchmark for many batters to date is his 100  international hundreds. Here are the best IPL betting sites for you to go and read some reviews.

It is a well-known fact that the former Indian skipper has to slog for over a year to score his 100th hundred. The much-awaited knock finally came during the 2012 ODI Asia Cup but the Indian cricket team had to pay a big price for the same. 

Batting first, India ended up with only 289 runs against Bangladesh courtesy of Sachin Tendulkar. The Mumbai-born has to be blamed for the low score as he put his personal interest ahead of the team. Sachin added just 114 runs in 147 balls he faced in the middle. 

Though Tendulkar was successful in achieving a remarkable milestone, India ended up losing to Bangladesh by five wickets. 

2. Michael Vandort’s 48 (117), VB Series 2006

Sri Lanka’s Michael Vandort featured in just one One Day International and he has only himself to blame for his spoilt career. Michael found a place in Sri Lanka’s playing XI during the 2006 VB series against Australia.

The host looked in fine touch with the willow as they ended up with 318 for five in their 50 overs. With a mammoth score on the board, Sri Lankan batters were expected to deliver extraordinary performance. 

However, Michael Vandort decided to screw all chances of his team winning the match by playing one of the most selfish innings in ODI cricket history. Playing his first-ever international match, Vandort chewed as many as 117 balls to hit just three boundaries and score 48 runs. 

1. Jacques Kallis 48 (63), 2007 World Cup

2007 World Cup saw another dominating performance by Australia as they went on to lift the cup for the third consecutive year. Though Australia were at their best throughout the tournament, South Africa especially Jacques Kallis played a helping hand to Ricky Ponting’s side. 

During one of the league matches between Australia and South Africa, Kallis played an unwanted slow inning to help the opposition win the game. South Africa were set to chase 377 runs in 20 overs. The opening pair of AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith did a commendable job as they accumulated 160 runs in 20 overs.

However, Kallis, who came to bat at number three, adopted a controversial approach to spoil all the efforts of the opening batters. The South African Stalwart faced 63 balls to hit 48 runs. The poor performance by the batter resulted in Proteas registering a big defeat by 84 runs.