Days after conceding five sixes in an over, Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera hit as many as 13 sixes during the second ODI match against New Zealand at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Saturday. Four of those sixes came in one over, bowled by Tim Southee.
The 29-year-old arrived in the centre when Lanka were stuttering at 128/7, in chase of New Zealand's 319. Perera then played one of the greatest ODI knocks by a lower-order batsman by hitting 13 sixes and eight fours in his 74-ball knock for 140 runs.
But the visitors lost the match by 21 runs.
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He thus eclipsed the Sri Lankan record for the most sixes hit in an ODI innings. The previous record belonged to legendary Sanath Jayasuriya (11).
Here are some of the Twitter reactions:
It was Perera's maiden ODI hundred. He reached the landmark off the 57th ball, and it's the third fastest in a losing cause, only behind Jonny Bairstow's 54th and James Faulkner's 57th ball knocks against Scotland in 2018 and India in 2013 respectively.
On Thursday, Perera was hit for five sixes in an over by Jimmy Neesham. But the Lankan all-rounder took just 48 hours to exorcise the ghost.
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He established a unique feat by becoming the first player to concede and also hit four sixes in an over in the same in the same series.
