KANPUR, April 15: Shahid Afridi, who lashed a 45-ball century to lift Pakistan to victory over India in the fifth one-dayer, said he had no plans to curb his all-out aggression despite frequent failures. “My game is such that I either succeed or fail,” he told reporters. “But I always hope to do something which is useful to the team at the start of the innings.
“If I had to change my style, it would have happened four-five years ago.
“I always want to play my way, but my captain’s confidence in me was very crucial after I struggled with bat and ball earlier in this series.”
Afridi said records are far from his mind when he bats.
“Records just happen,” he said. “Nobody goes in thinking about any record, but I went in with a positive mind, the way my captain instructed me.”
Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq was pleased with his team after clinching a 3-2 lead ahead of Sunday’s final game in New Delhi.
“It was not really easy making 250 on this pitch, but Afridi made it totally one-sided,” he said.
Inzamam praised the entire team after rallying from 2-0 down in the series.
“Cricket is a team game. No individual can just say he can win it on his own,” he said. “We were two down. We bounced back only because of team spirit and self belief.”—Reuters
The figures only mention the number of deliveries taken to reach hundred, while figures in brackets indicate the actual score of each batsman in that particular innings:
Fastest centuries in One-day Internationals
37 (102) Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) v Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1996
45 (117) B.C. Lara (West Indies) v Bangladesh at Dhaka in 1999
45 (102) Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) v India at Kanpur in 2005
48 (134) S.T. Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) v Pakistan at Singapore in 1998
62 (108) M. Azharuddin (India) v New Zealand at Baroda in 1988
67 (111) J.M. Davison (Canada) v West Indies at Centurion in 2003
67 (127*) Basit Ali (Pakistan) v West Indies at Sharjah in 1993
68 (139*) Ijaz Ahmed (Pakistan) v India at Lahore in 1997
68 (100*) Yousuf Youhana (Pakistan) v Zimbabwe at Harare in 2002
69 (100) V. Sehwag (India) v New Zealand at Colombo in 2001
69 (100*) K.P. Pietersen (England) v South Africa at East London in 2005
