Players who completed ODI centuries with a six on last ball of the innings

2. Kevin Pietersen vs South Africa in 2005

Kevin Pietersen made an explosive beginning to his ODI career after making his debut in the 2004-05 season during Zimbabwe and South Africa tours. Across his first seven innings, he scored 342 runs at an average of 114 and a strike rate of over 90. He smashed an unbeaten 108 during the 2nd game of the 7-match ODI series in South Africa which ended in a Tie. The English team lost the following two games and were 1-2 down. The hosts piled up 311/7 during the 5th ODI which was hosted by East London.

England’s top four hardly looked like chasing the target as none of the four even had a strike rate of 80. Pietersen walked to bat in the 27th over when England were 117/2 and another 195 runs to be scored. The South Africa-born kept striking the ball and hardly bothered about the runs coming at the other end. He raced to a fifty in only 38 balls and was batting on 63 from only 44 balls by 40th over while the visitors were 214/4 with another 98 runs needed to level the series.

The next five overs fetched 41/3 for England as Pietersen got to face only nine balls in a crunch situation. The equation of 36 from the last three overs seemed to be gettable with Kevin batting on 83 off 58 balls. But the new batting star of England failed to get boundaries in the next two overs. In fact, he could only get three sixes out of the six balls he faced leaving an improbable 23 runs to be chased in the final over. Pietersen got seven runs from the first three balls but only a single on the 4th delivery.

The game was all gone out of England’s hands by the final delivery where they needed 14 runs to win. Kevin Pietersen, batting on 94, found some consolation by smashing a full-toss from Andre Nel over the cow-corner to complete his hundred. He got to three figures in only 69 balls; the then fastest century in ODI format for England. This is the only instance in ODI cricket till date where a player reached his century by hitting a six on the final ball of a run-chase.