While the hosts New Zealand claimed another massive win against the Netherlands in the ongoing three-match home ODI series and secured this ODI series too, New Zealand stand-in captain Tom Latham broke a world record, which the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar managed to hold for almost 24 years.
Last Saturday, 2nd April 2022, was a special day for New Zealand cricketer Tom Latham as he was celebrating his 30th birthday. After his side was sent to bat first in that second ODI match of the series at Hamilton, skipper Latham’s 140 not out off 123 balls massively helped the hosts to deny any shocking result.
New Zealand were 32/5, but captain Tom Latham was still there
While New Zealand were once battling on 32/5 inside the first powerplay, they were also struggling on 89/6. However, Latham’s powerful batting was the result of the Blackcaps’ fascinating first innings total of 264/9 (50 overs). Doug Bracewell was the only other New Zealand batter to manage the 20+ score in that innings as he scored 41 off 51 balls.
Coming back to Latham’s batting, the left-handed middle-order batter hit 10 fours and five sixes to manage that unforgettable knock.
With that 140 not out, Tom Latham created history in ODI cricket. These records are as follows:
· Tom Latham became the first captain to score an ODI century on their birthday.
· Tom Latham is also now holding the record of scoring the most runs in an ODI innings on their birthday. Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was the previous record holder after scoring 134 runs against Australia on his 25th birthday.
A brief story of that Sachin Tendulkar’s record
It was the final game of the Coca-Cola Cup 1997/98 (ODI tri-series; participating nations India, Australia and New Zealand), where India and Australia met at Sharjah on 24th April 1998. It was Tendulkar’s 25th birthday.
After the Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin sent the Aussie team to bat first, Steve Waugh’s side managed to score 272/9 in 50 overs.
In reply, the opener Sachin Tendulkar completely dominated the Aussie bowlers and scored 134 off 131 balls with the help of 12 fours and 3 sixes. That game was also a part of the famously known 'Desert Storm'. That batting helped the Indian team to win that final as they chased down that big total in 48.3 overs after losing four wickets.
Coming back to birthday man Tom Latham’s innings
During Saturday’s day-night game, Tom Latham became the only fifth batter to score an ODI century on their birthday. Apart from him and Sachin Tendulkar, the other three names in this list are:
Ross Taylor (New Zealand) on 27th birthday – 131* vs Pakistan (at Pallekele on 8th March 2011)
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) on 39th birthday – 130 vs Bangladesh (at Karachi on 30th June 2008)
Vinod Kambli (India) on 21st birthday – 100* vs England (at Jaipur on 18th January 1993)
Moreover, Latham’s this incredible knock also put him on top of many other record books. Some of these records are:
· Highest individual score in an ODI innings by a New Zealand captain in New Zealand. The previous record was 119 by Brendon McCullum against Zimbabwe at Napier on 9th February 2012.
· First ODI century for any captain against the Netherlands. The previous highest individual ODI score for a captain against the Netherlands was 88 by the former English captain Andrew Strauss at Nagpur on 22nd February 2011.
· Highest individual ODI score at the home venue against the Netherlands. The previous best in this category was 113 by the former Irish cricketer Gary Wilson in Dublin on 16th August 2010.
The Netherlands failed in chasing
In reply, the Netherlands were collapsed for 146 runs in 34.1 overs as the hosts won the match by 118 runs. Only Vikramjit Singh (31), Bas de Leede (37) and Michael Rippon (18) managed to reach the double-figures in that innings along with the extras (16).
With that victory, the Latham-led Blackcaps are leading this three-match home ODI series by a 2-0 margin with one game to go. This ODI series is very crucial for both these teams as it is the part of inaugural ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League.
