When former Pakistan swashbuckling batsman Shahid Afridi made an entry into international cricket as a 16-year-old he wouldn’t have imagined breaking the record for the fastest ODI century in only his 2nd ODI against Sri Lanka. Now in his autobiography “Game Changer”, Shahid Afridi revealed that the 37 balls century against Sri Lanka came using Sachin Tendulkar’s bat.
The Little Maestro had given his favourite bat to former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis and asked him to take it to Sialkot and get a custom made one replicated there. Sialkot is one of the places in Pakistan which produced high-quality cricket bats. However, before taking the bat to Sialkot, Waqar handed the bat to Shahid Afridi and it was that particular blade which helped him score the fastest ODI century back then.
“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,” Shahid Afridi wrote in his autobiography.
It was one of the finest ODI knocks as he took on the Sri Lankan bowlers with disdain. He smashed the Sri Lankan bowlers all around the park during his exhilarating display of batsmanship. His knock of 102 came in just 40 deliveries and was studded with 6 fours and 11 sixes. The powerful striker of the ball was playing only in his 2nd match and was literally toying with the Bangladesh bowling attack.
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi revealed in his autobiography that he had previously dreamt of smashing the star-studded Sri Lankan bowlers all around the park before the match actually took place. It was a great effort by Afridi who blazed to a special century.
“‘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’,” writes Afridi. 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,” he further added.