Five out of the six hundreds scored in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Championship were made by openers? (30 September 2002)

Opening batsmen made hay in the 2000 ICC KnockOut Championship. With all the matches being held during the day and in bright sunshine, there was very little assistance for the bowlers. It was hard-hitting Sri Lankan opener Avishka Gunawardene who set the ball rolling for the men at the top of the order, by scoring 132 off 146 balls against the West Indies in the second match of the tournament, a pre-quarterfinal.

Saeed Anwar was to soon join him in the list of century-makers, scoring 105 runs whilst leading Pakistan to a nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second quarter-final. Having batted himself into fine form, the classy left-hander could not resist helping himself to another century against New Zealand in the first semi-final. Anwar's 104 off 115 balls, however, failed to secure his side's win as Roger Twose (87) guided the Kiwis to an easy Zealand win.

With Anwar and Gunawardene out of the fray, it was the turn of yet another left-hander, Sourav Ganguly, to come to the party. The Indian skipper's unbeaten 141 off 142 balls propelled his side a 95-run win in the second semi-final which pitted the Indians against the South Africans.

Ganguly was again the star as far as the Indians were concerned in the final against New Zealand. The elegant left-hander struck a handsome 117 as India set New Zealand 265 to win the final. It was a score that required a big hand from at least one of the New Zealand players. Fortunately for Stephen Fleming's men, they found a hero. Bucking the trend of openers scoring hundreds in the tournament, Chris Cairns hammered a glorious 102 off 113 balls to lead his side to a famous win.

For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]

[Archive]