4 records that Pathum Nissanka broke during his 210* vs Afghanistan in the 1st ODI
On a sunny day in Pallekele, Pathum Nissanka etched his name into the history books by coming up with a scintillating double hundred in the first ODI against Afghanistan on Friday, February 9.
Afghanistan, who have traveled to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is, witnessed truly one of the all-time best knocks by a Lankan batter in ODI cricket.
Opening the batting with Avishka Fernando, Nissanka added 182 runs in 26.2 overs before Fernando lost his wicket at 88. After this, Nissanka once again stitched up another century stand, this time with Sadeera Samarawickrama.
Carrying his bat throughout the Lankan innings, Nissanka always had an edge over the Afghani bowlers. Against the likes of Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi, and Fareed Ahmad, the Lankan opener held his own and dominated the proceedings with a masterful display.
Sending the opposition bowling to the leather hunt, Nissanka hammered 20 fours and eight sixes, accounting for more than 60 percent of his total runs through boundaries.
When a batter hammers a double hundred in any format, he is bound to topple a slew of records. Here is a compilation of four records that Pathum Nissanka broke during his 210 against Afghanistan.
#4 Second-highest ODI score against an Asian team
Afghanistan have now leaked a second ODI double ton within the last three months. Glenn Maxwell scored a mind-boggling 201 in Mumbai during the ODI World Cup 2023 in November.
While Nissanka's 210* is now the best score against Afghanistan, it is the joint-second-highest against all Asian countries. Nissanka has joined India's Ishan Kishan on the list, who also made 210 against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2022.
Rohit's unprecedented knock of 264 against Sri Lanka still remains at the top of the list.
#3 First player to hit 150+ score in his 50th ODI innings
Interestingly, it was Nissanka's 50th ODI innings as well. While several players have made their 50th ODI batting appearance memorable, none of them scored over 150 runs.
Thus, Nissanka became the first-ever player to notch up an individual score above 150, let alone 200. The previous highest score was held by Ireland's Andy Balbirnie, who made 145 against Afghanistan in 2019.
#2 Pathum Nissanka hit the third-fastest ODI double century
His elegant strokeplay saw Nissanka clobber his first fifty runs in just 31 balls before completing his hundred in a total of 88 balls. What followed was utter power-packed hitting by him as Nissanka made his next two sets of 50 runs in 28 and 20 runs, respectively.
The Lankan opener took a total of just 136 balls to get to his maiden double ton, surpassing the likes of Chris Gayle (138 balls) and Virender Sehwag (140 balls) to become the third-quicket on the list.
Ishan Kishan took 126 balls to make his super ton against Bangladesh, which is still the fastest in ODI history.
#1 Highest individual ODI score for Sri Lanka
With his superlative knock, Pathum Nissanka became the first-ever Sri Lankan player to hammer a double hundred in ODIs.
Previously, no other Sri Lankan player attained a 190+ score as well. Sanath Jayasuriya's 189 against India (in 2000) is now the second-best individual score from a Lankan batter.
It took 24 years to topple the record, and Nissanka now holds the highest individual score by a Lankan player. Apart from this, his 210 is also the joint-fifth-best individual score in ODI history.