Cricket News Desk. Many records are made and broken in international cricket. There are many players in the game of cricket who have been in the headlines due to their bad habits. The most important thing for a cricketer is his fitness. Fitness only helps a player’s career to progress. If a player is not fit then his career is sure to end. Some players are addicted to cigarettes and some alcohol ruins their career, but sometimes this addiction proves to be a big boon for the player.
Today we will talk about those players who drank alcohol on the cricket field and played big innings and thrashed the opposing bowlers. Let us know about three such batsmen, who entered the field drunk and played big innings for their team. Look:
Herschelle Gibbs (175 runs) vs Australia –
Thanks to this brilliant innings of Gibbs, the green jersey team defeated Australia with 1 ball and 1 wicket remaining.
In the year 2006, there was heavy rain of runs in the historic ODI match played between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg. Former veteran batsman Herschelle Gibbs played a brilliant inning of 175 runs for the South African team, which was chasing the target of 435 runs given by Australia. The right-handed batsman faced 111 balls and hit 21 fours and 7 sixes. During this period his strike rate was 157.65.
Thanks to this brilliant innings of Gibbs, the green jersey team defeated Australia with 1 ball and 1 wicket remaining. The host team also won the five-match ODI series 3-2. This match is counted among the biggest matches in the history of ODI cricket. It was later revealed that Gibbs had played this innings under the influence of alcohol. He drank alcohol before the innings. Gibbs said in his autobiography, “That day I was drinking with a friend until about one in the morning. The next day, when I came to bat I had a massive hangover.
Gary Sobers (150 runs) vs England –
Former West Indies cricket team all-rounder Gary Sobers played a big innings in the Lord’s Test against England in 1973 under the influence of alcohol. He scored 150 runs in this test. Gary has revealed in his autobiography ‘Gary Sobers: My Autobiography’ that he spent the night partying and drinking before batting in the Test. “I was full of drink,” Sobers revealed in his autobiography. I thought that if I go to the hotel and sleep, I will not be able to wake up. Then I called a friend and drank until 9 in the morning.
He further added, “By 9 pm, I was completely drunk, I reached the hotel, took a cold shower, put on pads and went to bat. I was able to see only the hands and feet of the bowler at the crease. I couldn’t even touch some balls, but after a while shots started missing. Teammates were laughing from the pavilion, but I was having a headache. I kept playing and scored my 26th century. After this he could not bear it anymore and came to the pavilion and slept. After some time he returned and scored 150 runs.
KL Rahul (110 runs) vs West Indies –
In the match, KL Rahul played a brilliant inning of 110 runs in 51 balls.
Indian cricket team’s star wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul is counted among the talented players. The right-handed batsman had revealed during an interview a few years ago that he had spent the entire night partying before the match against West Indies in 2016. According to reports, he had consumed alcohol during this time.
The match that Rahul was referring to was played against West Indies on 27 August 2016. In this match, KL Rahul played a brilliant inning of 110 runs in 51 balls. But his innings could not bring victory to the Indian team. India had to face defeat by 1 run in this match.
