Ranking top 10 selfish knocks in cricket history

Cricket is a team game. No individual is bigger than the team. Thus, it goes without saying that a player must put his team ahead of him. However, we don’t always get to see that as there have been several instances where cricketers have put themselves ahead of their team. There are several incidents where a player was “Selfish”. Such selfish knocks have costed their team more often than not. So which are those cricketers who have happened to play a selfish knock sometime in their career? Which are the most selfish knocks ever played? Today we shall be ranking the- Top 10 selfish knocks in cricketing history 10) Jacques Kallis, 48 off 63 balls Jacques Kallis batting. (PhotoSource: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images) Kallis is unarguably one of the greatest cricketers of all time. The legendary all-rounder has single-handedly won a lot of matches for South Africa. However, there was this one instance where even the legends himself played a selfish knock. It was in the 2007 World Cup (WC) when the Proteas were playing against the mighty Aussies. Owing to a sensational hundred by Matthew Hayden, South Africa had to chase 377. Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers started brilliantly as they went on to score 160 runs in the first 20 overs of the second innings. After ABD’s wicket, Kallis came to bat and lacked intent. With the net run-rate hovering over seven, Kallis scored a 63-ball 48 and sucked the momentum out of the chase. By the time he was dismissed, the game was well and truly out from South Africa’s reach with the required run-rate zooming in double figures. 9) MS Dhoni, 54 off 117 balls MS Dhoni batting. (Photo Source: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images) MS Dhoni is considered as one of the greatest finishers of all time. Not many players possess the kind of hitting ability he does. However, as the former Indian skipper got old, his finishing skills started to diminish. His 117-ball 54 was a clear indication of that. After winning the second and third ODI against the West Indies in 2017 (The first being washed out due to rain) India looked all set to win the fourth ODI and clinch the series. However, that was not meant to be as the former wicketkeeper-batsman wasn’t able to win the match for India. The Indian legend struggled throughout his innings and scored a painstaking 54 off 114 balls, an innings that included just a sole boundary. India then failed to chase down 190, falling to an 11-run defeat. Dhoni was severely criticized for this knock. 8) Misbah-Ul-Haq, 56 off 76 balls Misbah Ul Haq. (Photo Source: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images) While some cricket pundits appreciate Misbah for his numerous knocks which have saved Pakistan from humiliation, the others have made it a habit to criticize Misbah for his selfish knocks. However, among all of his knocks in international cricket, this knock in the 2011 WC semis against India always gets criticized. He will always be remembered by the fans of his nation for this innings. After restricting India to 260, Pakistan were still in the game until Misbah started to bat without any intent. It almost looked like he was playing a Test match. This resulted in the pressure of keeping a pace and the mounting run-rate went disturbing for the other batsmen. This led to Pakistan having to play the big shots towards the end which they failed to do so. The former Pakistan captain ended up scoring a 76-ball 56 as Pakistan went on to lose the semis by 31 runs. It was rather unfortunate that he chose to just hang around and not go on the offense. 7) Manoj Prabhakar, 102 off 154 balls Manoj Prabhakar. (Photo Source: Getty Images) When was the last time you saw a batsman getting discarded even after scoring a 100? Manoj Prabhakar’s century was so painstaking that even he was immediately suspending front the rest of the series. This occurred during a league-stage encounter between India and West Indies. India needed 258 to win and Prabhakar shockingly started approaching this ODI match like a Test match. He ended up taking 154 balls to score his 102. Prabhakar alongside Mongia only scored 16 runs in the last 54 balls when the required run rate was more than six. India thus ended up losing the match by 46 runs. Neither of them was a specialist batsman and neither were known for big-hitting. However, what was surprising was that neither Prabhakar nor Mongia even tried to win the match. 6) David Warner, 100 off 140 balls David Warner batting. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) David Warner is arguably one of the most explosive players ever. You wouldn’t find too many openers as threatening and aggressive as him. However, even he has played a selfish knock in his career. Back in 2011-2012, Warner was in superb form and was hitting bowlers for fun. However against Sri Lanka in the second match of the 2012 Commonwealth Bank Series Final, Warner didn’t even look to play his shots. Although he scored a 100, he took 140 balls to do so. While one might say that the pitch was hard, Clark’s knock suggested differently. The then Aussie skipper scored 117 in just 91 balls to take his team to 271. Sri Lanka chased it down and it would be safe to say that Warner’s slow 100 cost his team a victory. 5) Geoffery Boycott, 246 off 555 balls Geoffrey Boycott. (Photo Source: Twitter) Very seldom would you see a knock in the longest format of the game being termed as “Selfish”. It gets shocking when you realize that the batsman was none other than the legendary Geoffery Boycott. What’s interesting is that he went on to score a double hundred. The English legend was even dropped from the team after scoring his 246 of 555 deliveries. After coming into this game on the back of some horrendous form, he scored a total of 106 runs as the spectators struggled to stay awake. Boycott scored 17 runs in the first session and a ridiculous 8 in the second. Boycott did bat with some urgency on the second day, scoring 140 runs in three and a half hours but that did nothing but show how selfish Boycott was as he could have easily scored quickly if he wanted to. Although England won the game, he was dropped from the team. The then English selectors publicly criticized his knock and called it selfish. 4) Ravi Shastri, 25 off 67 balls Ravi Shastri. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Who would have imagined that a player who has hit six sixes in an over would feature in a list like this? The current coach of the Indian team played a knock so slow that his team couldn’t even make up for the balls which he ate. The astonishing fact is that this wasn’t his first selfish knock as Shastri scored a slow and selfish knock earlier in the same tournament. The former Indian opener was able to score only 25 runs off 67 deliveries while chasing a modest total against Australia. This was one of the most debated innings ever played by an Indian in a WC game. His scoring rate was just 37.31 and eventually cost India the match. The team fell short of the target, which was reduced to 236 in 47 overs due to rain, and were denied a semi-final berth. The sad part about this knock was Shastri deciding not to accelerate even when his team was in dire need of it. Every Indian fan criticized Shastri for this knock. 3) Michael Vandort, 48 off 117 balls Michael Vandort. (Photo by Neal Simpson – PA Images via Getty Images) Michael Vandort managed to play just one ODI and rightly so. Despite his ODI debut being his final game, his slow knock ensured that it gets remembered for a really long time. He took 117 balls to score 48 runs. It was against Australia at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. A strong batting performance by the hosts took them to a towering 318-5 from their 50 overs, meaning the tourists would have to crack on at more than a run-a-ball to win the match. Vandort, however, sucked the momentum out of the chase. As a matter of fact, it never really looked like he was even trying to win the match. His 48 included a mere three fours and he scored at half the required run rate. Sri Lanka went on to lose by 116 runs. 2) Sachin Tendulkar, 114 off 147 balls Sachin Tendulkar 100th century. (Photo Source: Twitter) Even the God of cricket finds himself on this list. Although he is arguably the greatest player to have ever played the game, his slow knock against Bangladesh did come at a heavy cost. It also happened to be his 100th international 100. The unbelievable milestone of his 100th century did ensure that India not only lost the match but also failed to reach the Asia Cup Final. In the group stage of the 2012 Asia Cup, Tendulkar ended his century drought and ended up scoring 114 from 147 deliveries. The pace of his innings was severely criticized by one and all. India, however, still ended up scoring 289 which seemed decent. However, that wasn’t enough as Bangladesh managed to chase it down and win the match. Thus, several cricket pundits criticize this knock. 1) Sunil Gavaskar, 36 of 174 Sunil Gavaskar of India bats. (Photo Source: Getty Images) 46 years have passed but this knock is criticized even today. You wouldn’t find too many knocks as selfish as this one. No matter how legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s achievements are, this audaciously slow innings will always be remembered by one and all. In the inaugural cricket WC in 1975, Gavaskar scored a bizarre knock of 36 which took 174 balls. England were taking on India at Lord’s in June 1975 in a 60-over ODI and the hosts racked up a towering 334-4 – a quite remarkable effort considering the time and era at which this match was played. Gavaskar, however, didn’t even look to chase the total. He hit just one boundary in 174 balls! India lost just three wickets but amassed only 132 runs, resulting in a mighty 202-run win for England. The former Indian opener has gone on record to say that this many times that this was his worst knock of all time.

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Ranking top 10 selfish knocks in cricket history

There have been several knocks played by cricketers that can be called 'selfish' over a period of time.

6) David Warner, 100 off 140 balls

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