This wonderful game of cricket has had many magical and revered moments on these special days that people talk about even today. It ranges from the famous 134 runs by Sachin vs Australia in Sharjah in 1998 to Ross Taylor’s majestic 131 vs Pakistan in 2011 World Cup.
While those were some great ODI performances that found their name in the annals of great centuries, here is a list of performances by the great cricketers on their respective birthdays in Tests.
#5 Graeme Pollock 105 runs vs Australia, Port Elizabeth
He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest southpaws to have ever graced the game. Graeme Pollock, a South African was born on 27 February 1944. He is an all-time great who was for a long time behind Bradman’s average of 99.94 by retiring at 60.97 average himself.
He scored 105 runs against the visiting Bob Simpson’s Australia on his birthday, which was nothing short of a masterclass in batting. He scored that century in the final Test of the series at Port Elizabeth.
The century helped him and his team clinch the series by winning it 3-1. He scored a whopping 537 runs in the series at an average of 76.71 trailing only behind the South African wicketkeeper-batsman Denis Lindsay’s tally of 606 runs.
#4 Ramnaresh Sarwan 116 runs vs India, Basseterre
Ramnaresh Sarwan the last of the West Indies greats was born on 23rd June 1980. He is most famous for his exploits in the world record chase of 418 against the Australians in which he scored 105 runs.
He scored a sublime 116 runs in the third Test match of the four-match Test series against India in 2006. The match ended in a draw but this innings forced the series result to the last Test match. He scored this century on his birthday when he turned 26 years of age.
The centuries from Darren Ganga and Sarwan saw West Indies post a mammoth total of 581 runs on the board. India did not bat as well and conceded a lead of 219 runs but not enough time in the Test prevented the Windies from winning the Test match.
#3 Alec Stewart 118 runs vs West Indies, Kensington Oval
Alec Stewart was born on 8th April 1964 became one of the wicketkeeper-batsman to have come out of England team. He played 133 Tests for England scoring 8463 Test runs with 15 centuries and a highest of 190.
He scored the crucial 118 runs in the fourth Test match of the five-Test match series against the West Indies on 8th of April 1994. England posted a total of 355 runs and bowled out West Indies for mere 305 runs in the second innings.
He bettered his tally in the second innings by scoring 143 runs which helped England to 394/7d. English bowling then made light of West Indies famed batting lineup as Caddick returned with impressive figures of 5/63 to win a famous Test match for England.
#2 Imran Khan 123 runs vs West Indies, Lahore
Imran Khan, the talismanic Pakistani skipper was one of the best all-rounders the game had ever seen. He had the all rounder’s triple of 3000 Test runs and 300 Test wickets. He finished his career with 3807 Test runs and 362 Test wickets in 88 Test matches.
He scored 123 runs on his birthday 25th of November 1980 against the mighty West Indians. He scored the century in the very first match of the tour with Pakistan ending up at 369 runs in the first innings.
West Indies ended up at 297 runs riding on Viv Richards 75 runs in the second innings. The match could not yield a result because of a day 3 washout and ended up being a famous drawn Test match.
#1 Jason Gillespie 201* runs vs Bangladesh, Chittagong
Jason Gillespie was the part of the famous pace battery which came out of Australia in the early 2000’s. He finished his career with 259 Test wickets and 1218 Test runs with a highest of 201* not out.
The highest came in an away match against a weak Bangladesh team but it was a double century nonetheless. It was an innings laced with 26 boundaries and two sixes that came over a course of 425 balls. This innings ensured that Australia won the two-match Test series 2-0.
Gillespie was awarded Man of the Match as well as Man of the series award for his efforts with the bat and ball in the series. It was unfortunate that this coincidentally became the last Test of his career but it was a nice way to sign off from this great game of cricket.
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