UAE's Khan becomes oldest ever centurion

Denzil Pinto 07:53 01/12/2014
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  • Pulling away: At 43, Khurram Khan's century gave him the record from Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayas­uriya.

    UAE captain Khurram Khan put himself into the record books by becoming the oldest player to score an ODI century during his team’s six-wicket win over Afghanistan yesterday.

    – Pakistan Consulate win second edition of Danube Diplomat Cup

    Aged 43 years and 162 days, Khan overtook Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayas­uriya, who at 39 years and 212 days, held the record after scoring 107 against India in Dambulla in Janu­ary 2009.

    It was a game that featured two centurions at Dubai’s ICC Academy. First, Nawroz Mangal hit 129 runs off 123 deliveries to help Afghani­stan reach 280-5 with all-rounder Krishna Karate the pick of the UAE bowlers with figures of 3-45.

    The UAE got off to a poor start with both openers out early. But Khan was in fine form, smashing 17 fours and one maximum in his unbeaten 132-run knock.

    He also put on a 160-run third wicket part­nership with Mohammad Shahzad (79) to see the team home with 10 balls to spare.

    Before the match, Khan had said he wanted his team-mates to turn 50s into a century, and he certainly did that.

    The win also gives the UAE a 2-0 lead in the four-match ODI series.

    “It feels absolutely amazing,” said the 43-year-old. “It’s a good feeling to score a century, and to be on the winning side is like the icing on the cake. It’s one I will cherish for a long time and words cannot explain how I feel.

    “When I got out on Friday (in the first ODI) I played a rash shot and that was on the back of my mind. Today, I played my shots naturally and was rewarded with a century.”

    At the crease, Khan was assisted by right-arm medium bowler Shah­zad, who replaced Amjad Javed. And the captain explained the rea­sons why Shahzad was brought up the batting order.

    “Two hundred and eighty was a big target and Aaqib Javed (coach) and I thought if we lost some early wickets, we would move Shahzad up the batting order because he’s very good at hitting the ball and can help us gain a solid partnership. He certainly did that.”

    The UAE can seal the series by winning tomorrow’s match.

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