Eoin Morgan Smashes 4th Fastest WC Ton, Hits Most Sixes in an ODI

England captain Eoin Morgan smashed 148 off 71 balls.

(Photo: AP)

England captain Eoin Morgan has entered the history books by smashing a massive 17 sixes during his innings of 148 from 71 balls against Afghanistan. The skipper owns the record for the most maximums in an ODI innings.

Morgan went to the crease in the 30th over with England at 164-2 and raised the total to 359 before he was out in the 47th over. The team eventually posted 397-6, and ODI record total at Old Trafford.

Southpaw Morgan, who also smashed four fours, also notched up the fourth fastest hundred ever in a World Cup match. He went past 200 sixes in ODIs and raced away to his 13th ODI hundred and his first in a World Cup. The team also finished with 25 sixes, the most by a team in an ODI innings. They broke the record registered by them in the game against West Indies in February 2019.

Morgan, who had been a doubtful starter because of a back problem, raised his half century from 36 balls with a towering six — his fifth of the innings — off Mohammad Nabi in the 39th over and reached his century from 57 balls.

He beat Chris Gayle's record of 16 sixes in an ODI against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup when he flat-batted Gulbadin Naib straight down the ground, but was caught in the deep on the next delivery from his opposing captain.

The English skipper was in fact dropped on 28 when he pulled Rashid Khan out to deep midwicket, where Dawlat Zadran got one hand to the ball before it trickled to the boundary.

Morgan hit two more sixes in the over, and barely seemed to stop clearing the boundary in a game involving the tournament's highest and lowest-ranked teams.

He took 22 off one over against Rashid and generally dismantled Afghanistan's best bowler, who conceded the worst-ever figures in a World Cup of 0-110 from nine overs.

Moeen Ali hit the 25th six of the innings on the penultimate ball as England beat its own record for most sixes in an ODI innings.

Morgan and Jason Roy didn't bat last week in the eight-wicket win over West Indies because of injuries, with the skipper leaving the field with back muscle spasms and the opening batsman going off tearing his left hamstring. Morgan recovered in time to take on Afghanistan, but Roy was ruled out this week for at least two games.