Adam Gilchrist was a gun batter and a fine wicketkeeper for Australia. He gets the credit for redefining the role of a keeper-batter, and rightfully so he proved it with his performances.
Gilchrist didn’t just limit himself to the keeping duty like the former wicketkeepers. He brought excitement to the field with his attacking batting while showing terrific glovework behind the wickets.
Now all that has definitely elevated him as one of the greatest wicketkeepers in cricket history. But did you know that every time Gilchrist scored a century in an ODI match, Australia came out as the winner?
Yes, you read that right. Gilchrist smashed 16 ODI centuries in his career, and Australia won in each of those games.
Believe it or not, he is the only batter to have scored all career hundreds in ODI victories for his team! Isn’t it a fascinating feat?
So let’s see how Gilchrist’s centuries always powered Australia to win in ODI cricket.
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Adam Gilchrist’s ‘100’ Percent Success Rate
Gilly made his ODI debut for Australia on October 25, 1996, and went on to become one of their biggest match-winners in years to come.
At the start of his career, he was second in line for Ian Healy, who was in his last playing days. So Gilchrist played as a batter in a few games before taking the reins from Healy.
For over a year after his debut, Gilchrist batted in the middle order before the management decided to pair him with Mark Waugh to open the innings. And that worked like wonders for the keeper-batter.
He didn’t waste any time and pounced on the opportunity with both hands, just like he used to take catches. Now keeping the wickets for 50 overs and then opening the innings isn’t an easy task. But Gilly did it with finesse.
And he showed a glimpse of it in only his second game as an opener against South Africa on January 26, 1998. He hammered his maiden ODI century, scoring 100 runs off 104 balls to crush the 229-run target in 41.5 overs.
That was the start of Gilchrist’s century mania in Australia’s victories. Within two weeks, he went on to score his second hundred, repaying the faith shown by the team in his batting abilities.
Here’s a list of Adam Gilchrist’s ODI centuries for Australia:
Adam Gilchrist ODI Centuries List
| Century No | Score | Balls | 4s/6s | Opponent | Inns | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 104 | 9/1 | v South Africa | 2 | Sydney | 1998 |
| 2 | 118 | 117 | 10/5 | v New Zealand | 2 | Christchurch | 1998 |
| 3 | 103 | 104 | 12/0 | v Pakistan | 2 | Lahore | 1998 |
| 4 | 131 | 118 | 10/2 | v Sri Lanka | 2 | Sydney | 1999 |
| 5 | 154 | 129 | 14/4 | v Sri Lanka | 1 | Melbourne | 1999 |
| 6 | 128 | 98 | 9/7 | v New Zealand | 1 | Christchurch | 2000 |
| 7 | 105 | 104 | 12/1 | v South Africa | 2 | Durban | 2002 |
| 8 | 124 | 104 | 12/4 | v England | 1 | Melbourne | 2002 |
| 9 | 111 | 104 | 14/1 | v India | 1 | Bengaluru | 2003 |
| 10 | 172 | 126 | 13/3 | v Zimbabwe | 1 | Hobart | 2004 |
| 11 | 121* | 101 | 17/2 | v England | 2 | The Oval | 2005 |
| 12 | 103 | 79 | 8/4 | v ICC World XI | 1 | Melbourne (Docklands) | 2005 |
| 13 | 116 | 105 | 11/4 | v Sri Lanka | 2 | W.A.C.A | 2006 |
| 14 | 122 | 91 | 13/4 | v Sri Lanka | 2 | Brisbane | 2006 |
| 15 | 149 | 104 | 13/8 | v Sri Lanka | 1 | Bridgetown | 2007 |
| 16 | 118 | 132 | 9/3 | v Sri Lanka | 1 | W.A.C.A | 2008 |
In the next 10 years, Gilchrist added another 14 tons, helping Australia win every time with his knocks. And what’s fascinating about his hundreds is all 16 came at a strike rate of 89 or above, with 13 of them at more than 100.
This gives you an idea about how aggressive Gilchrist was as a batter, setting a template for the upcoming wicketkeeper-batters.
Plus, he was equally good at batting first and chasing a target. His century tally also reflects that clearly, as half of his centuries came while batting first and the other half in chases.
Be it batting first or chasing the target, Gilchrist made sure to provide a strong platform to the upcoming batters with his brisk run-scoring.
And this trait wasn’t just visible in bilateral games but also in the World Cup, where he helped Australia clinch three back-to-back titles with his reliable batting. In the 1999 and 2003 editions finals, Gilly scored a fifty each, while in the 2007 iteration final, he slammed 149 off 104 balls, which still remains the highest score in a World Cup final.
A year later, Gilchrist brought up his 16th and last ODI hundred against Sri Lanka at WACA before calling it quits in March 2008. There is a high chance that no other batter will match his 100 percent success rate in the future.
Find out: Most ODI Centuries for Australia
