New Zealand opener Martin Guptill started the year with a bang as he smashed his 14th One Day International hundred in the opening ODI match of the three-match series against Sri Lanka.
Martin Guptill on Thursday also went past former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum as the batsman to score more than 6000 runs in the limited overs game. Guptill, in the process, also broke the record of former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and top order batsman Rohit Sharma in terms of the number of innings to reach the milestone.
Martin Guptill’s 138 and a 13-ball 47* plus 3/38 for Jimmy Neesham helped New Zealand claim victory by 45 runs in the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Mount Maunganui.#NZvSL REPORT 👇https://t.co/hjC7eyn97T pic.twitter.com/oRP5se0FfK
— ICC (@ICC) January 3, 2019
Guptill took just 160 matches to score 6000 runs at an average of 42.89 and a strike rate of 86.49. The stylish 32-year-old batsman’s highest score in the limited overs game is 237. While Rohit Sharma took 162 innings to score 6000 runs, wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni reached the same milestone in 166 innings.
Martin Guptill brings up his 14th ODI 💯 in the opening game against Sri Lanka in Mount Maunganui.
Follow the #NZvSL action live 🔽https://t.co/BiT2f0oEeH pic.twitter.com/rDtwfu9Zd4
— ICC (@ICC) January 3, 2019
The right-hander also became the eighth batsmen in the world to breach the mark of 6000 runs in ODI cricket. The record for the fastest batsman to score 6000 runs remains with South Africa’s Hashim Amla (123 innings).
Martin Guptill has overtaken former captain Brendon McCullum to become the fourth-highest run-scorer in ODIs for New Zealand! 👏#NZvSL LIVE 🔽https://t.co/BiT2f0oEeH pic.twitter.com/Fwf4QiVGZj
— ICC (@ICC) January 3, 2019
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has taken 136 innings to score 6000 runs in ODIs and former West Indies great Viv Richards took 141 innings to reach the same milestone.