Top 5 memorable performances by Shahid Afridi

4. 102 runs off 45 balls (Pakistan vs India, Kanpur, April 2005)

Looks like April is Shahid’s favourite month to perform exceedingly well against the opposition. Arch-rivals India found this to their cost in the 2005 home series against the Men in Green.

In the fifth ODI, after Rana Naved-ul-Hasan ran through the much vaunted powerful lineup of the Indians, restricting them to 249, Afridi let loose a barrage of shots – clobbering ten fours and nine sixes – on the way to his fourth ODI century.

He punished all the bowlers, meting out special treatment to the seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji and spinners Anil Kumble and Dinesh Mongia. His 45-ball hundred is the joint second fastest in ODI history along with WI great Brian Lara’s. Afridi’s hurricane knock saw him add 131 for the first wicket with Salman Butt, and it eventually helped Pakistan take the game and lead the series 3-2. A thunderous performance from the then-25 year-old all-rounder!