Do you know? The only two players with more than one ODI hundred batting at No. 7
Scoring a century coming at no. seven is a difficult task for any player in any format of the game. Reaching the three-figure mark after batting lower down the order is not easy for any batter but two cricketers namely Michael Bracewell and MS Dhoni have managed to smash more than one century at no. seven in the one-day international format.
Former India captain Dhoni is one of the two cricketers to slam multiple centuries at no. seven in the history of one-day internationals. His first ton came while playing for Asia XI against Africa XI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in June 2007.
Asia XI batted first and the former legendary India skipper came in to bat at that position and hammered an unbeaten 139 off just 97, which included 15 fours and five maximums at a strike rate of 143.29. Courtesy of Dhoni, Asia XI reached a massive total of 331/8.
The Asian side won the contest by 13 runs with Dhoni winning the Player of the Match award. His second hundred came while playing for India against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue in December 2012. In the first of the three-match series, India batted first and Dhoni struck 113 off 125 with seven fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 90.40. India reached a total of 227/6 but it wasn’t enough as Pakistan won by six wickets.
New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell is the second player to achieve this feat. His first ton came in a breathtaking encounter as he pulled off a heist for the Kiwis against Ireland in July 2022. In the first of the three-match series, New Zealand was set a huge target of 301.
Bracewell, at no. seven, slammed an unbeaten 127 off just 82 with ten fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 154.87. With 20 needed off the final over, he smashed 24 runs with three fours and two sixes to script a memorable win for the BlackCaps.
In the ongoing series, his second ton came in a losing cause against India in Hyderabad. Chasing a mammoth target of 350, it seemed the Kiwis were done and dusted at 131/6. But Bracewell had other ideas as he took the match close by scoring a magnificent 140 off just 78 with 12 fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 179.49. However, New Zealand fell short by just 12 runs with Bracewell almost pulling off another sensation victory for his side.
