Sanath Jayasuriya scores fastest fifty in One-Day Internationals

Sanath Jayasuriya… half-century in 17 balls © Getty Images

On April 7, 1996, Sanath Jayasuriya, few days after smashing the fastest century in ODIs, plundered the Pakistani attack again to register the fastest fifty in overs-limit format this time, during the final of the 1996 Singer Cup. At one point, it looked as though the island nation would overtake the target within 20 overs, but it wasn’t meant to be. Karthik Parimal revisits the astonishing innings.

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Just five days prior to this innings, Sanath Jayasuriya led a massacre against Pakistan that saw him become the fastest centurion in limited-overs international at the time. It was a blitzkrieg that one felt could never have been replicated. However, on April 7, 1996, Jayasuriya cut loose, yet again, this time in the finals of the Singer Cup and against the same opposition. The Pakistani bowlers must have experienced what is so often referred to as ‘déjà vu’ and defeat looked a certainty on this occasion as well.

A record that stands to this day

Having been asked to bat first by Arjuna Ranatunga, Pakistan could muster just 215 at the tiny venue in Singapore, owing to Ijaz Ahmed’s half-century. Considering Sri Lanka’s recent run in One-Day Internationals (ODI), many believed that the target would be surpassed with nonchalant ease. This feeling gained in intensity when Jayasuriya got going in an astonishing fashion.

The signs were ominous as soon as Waqar Younis got struck for two fours in the first over of the Sri Lankan innings. Looking at the ease with which he cut and placed the speedster on both sides of the turf, it seemed as though Jayasuriya never left the field after that blistering knock of 134 a few days ago.

The second over, bowled by Aaqib Javed, didn’t produce many runs, but things went haywire for Pakistan thereafter, when Ata-ur-Rehman was given the ball. Jayasuriya extracted 22 from that over — three sixes, all on the leg-side, and a four — before scoring 13 off Javed’s next. Saqlain’s off-breaks were brought into play in as soon as the fifth over, and it was in the first ball of his spell that Jayasuriya reached fifty in 17 balls — the fastest by an individual in an ODIs — by hoicking the delivery over deep cover. The record that was trumped in the process was Simon O’Donnell’s [who scored a 50 in 18 balls against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1990].

In five overs, the scoreboard read 70 for no loss, with Jayasuriya batting on 66; the other four runs were obtained through extras. In the sixth over, the southpaw’s batting partner, the other opener, Romesh Kaluwitharana, who was yet to get off the mark, was bowled by Javed. After adding 10 more runs in his kitty, in an attempt to hit Waqar Younis out of the park, Jayasuriya mistimed a heave and, the ball landed safely in the palms of Saeed Anwar. He was dismissed for a freaky 76 off 28 balls, but Sri Lanka were safely placed at 96 for two from 8.3 overs.

Getting a further 120 runs in more than 40 overs would be a formality for a Sri Lankan line-up that boasted the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Mahanama and Ranatunga; or so thought many. Almost all the Pakistani bowlers approached the game with a renewed vigour after seeing Jayasuriya’s back. Saqlain removed Aravinda and Ranatunga — the 1996 World Cup final heroes — for single figures, while the rest of the batting attack appallingly faltered around them.

Against the run of play, the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 172, conceding victory to Pakistan by 43 runs. Ata-ur-Rehman, who was clobbered by Jayasuriya during the early stages, took three wickets in five balls to draw curtains on the Sri Lanka innings. This final was not meant to be theirs.

Nonetheless, Jayasuriya was the man-of-the-series for amassing 217 runs in three innings at an average of 72.33. He recorded a strike-rate of 213 during that tournament and had collected 20 fours and 16 sixes. In the final alone he pocketed eight fours and five sixes.

A golden period that began at the commencement of the 1996 World Cup extended till the finals of the Singer Cup for Jayasuriya. It is a patch that will forever be etched in his memory.

Brief scores: Pakistan 215 (Ijaz Ahmed 51, Rameez Raja 37; Chaminda Vaas 2 for 35) beat Sri Lanka 172 (Sanath Jayasuriya 76; Ata-ur-Rehman 3 for 27, Saqlain Mushtaq 3 for 46) by 43 runs.

(Karthik Parimal, a Correspondent with CricketCountry, is a cricket aficionado and a worshipper of the game. He idolises Steve Waugh and can give up anything, absolutely anything, just to watch a Kumar Sangakkara cover drive. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/karthik_parimal)