Fans will have to live to fight another day to see an Indian cricketer score a century in an ICC Cricket World Cup match at the Wankhede Stadium. Not one, but, three Indian batters missed out on opportunities to register World Cup Centuries at this iconic ground in the ongoing match against Sri Lanka.
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In spite of looking set to touch the three-figure mark at once, opening batter Shubman Gill (92), former captain Virat Kohli (88) and batter Shreyas Iyer (82) joined Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, former opener Gautam Gambhir and former captain MS Dhoni in not being able to convert their respective 80+ individual score into a World Cup century in Mumbai.
Co-incidentally, Gambhir and Dhoni (unbeaten) had registered nervous nineties individually in India’s last World Cup match against Sri Lanka here. For the unversed, memorable contributions on their part had come in a successful run-chase in the final match of 2011 World Cup.
Tendulkar, first of these six batters to have failed to achieve this milestone at this venue, would’ve scored his sixth ODI century had he accumulated 10 more runs against Australia in 1996. Tendulkar, who had scored 90 (84) at a strike rate of 107.14, had contributed in an unsuccessful run-chase unlike Gambhir and Dhoni.
Much like the above mentioned trio part of the latest instance, India captain Rohit Sharma (4) was also a part of Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka’s maiden ODI five-wicket haul. However, Gill and Kohli scored fifth and 70th half-centuries in the format respectively in a 188-ball 189-run second-wicket partnership.
Three batsmen missing out on centuries will pinch those guys but Team India will be so happy with @ShubmanGill and @ShreyasIyer15 getting important runs when the team needed the most; and just when We are approaching the knockouts.
Not to forget my brother @imVkohli who will get…— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) November 2, 2023
Iyer, on the other hand, generated more impact than the two top-order batters on the back of hitting three fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 146.42. With three batters getting out in his presence, Iyer silenced detractors by playing a titular role in powering India to an innings total in excess of 350.
Eight Overseas Batters Have Scored World Cup Centuries At Wankhede Stadium
Currently hosting its ninth ODI World Cup match, Wankhede Stadium has witnessed a total of eight centuries by overseas batters over the years. One Englishman, one Australian, one Kiwi, two Sri Lankan, two South African and one Bangladeshi batter has been able to cross the 100-run mark across the four World Cups which India has hosted till date.
It is worth mentioning that this World Cup has witnessed the maximum number of centuries scored at this ground. South Africa wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock, only batter to cross the 150-run mark in a World Cup match in Mumbai, holds the record for the highest individual score.
| Batters | Team | Opposition | Runs | Balls | Year |
| Graham Gooch | England | India | 115 | 136 | 1987 |
| Mark Waugh | Australia | India | 126 | 135 | 1996 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | Canada | 101 | 109 | 2011 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | 111 | 128 | 2011 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | India | 103* | 88 | 2011 |
| Heinrich Klaasen | South Africa | England | 109 | 67 | 2023 |
| Quinton de Kock | South Africa | Bangladesh | 174 | 140 | 2023 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | South Africa | 111 | 111 | 2023 |
Readers must note that India aren’t scheduled to play another league match in this competition in the financial capital of the country. Assuming they don’t play a semi-final at this venue, fans will have to wait for eight more years to see an Indian batter bring up a World Cup century here.
