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149* v Pakistan, Hobart, 1999-2000
It was one of the great comebacks after Australia fell to 5 for 126.
They were chasing 369 for victory and the top order, boasting plenty of
experience with the Waugh brothers, Michael Slater and Ricky Ponting,
had failed. Gilchrist, on the other hand, was playing in only his
second Test and he and Justin Langer combined for 238 in 59 overs to
set up the win. His unbeaten 149 took just 163 deliveries, and featured
13 fours and a six. Steve Waugh later said he looked like he was
playing in his own backyard. It was the first of many times that
Gilchrist would turn a game on its head.
204* v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2001-02
An
emotional man, Gilchrist cried on reaching one of many milestones in
the innings after being the victim of a vicious internet rumour. He was
brutal throughout the performance which at the time was the fastest
double-century in Test history, his 204 coming from 213 balls. Eight
sixes were thrashed, most over midwicket, as he showed his amazing
power in a performance that would remain his highest.
122 v India, Mumbai, 2000-01
It
was 99 for 5 when Gilchrist walked in. Only Matthew Hayden stood his
ground in the hot cauldron as Harbhajan Singh ran amok. In a couple of
hours he changed the face the game and the contest. Sweeping, cutting
and lofting, he raced to an 84-ball century, the fastest by a visiting
batsman on Indian soil. Even if he was playing his first Test in India,
the foreign conditions didn't matter. He took risks, survived clear
chances and half chances, but never retreated.
113 v Pakistan, Sydney, 2004-05
The
scorecard shows Stuart MacGill as the Man of the Match and Ricky
Ponting as the dominant batsman with 207, but it was Gilchrist's
109-ball century that really wrested the match away from Pakistan. It
was his 13th Test hundred - he passed Andy Flower's record for a
wicketkeeper-batsman - and featured scintillating striking towards the
end. He brought up the milestone with a straight six off Shahid Afridi
and had raced within reach thanks to consecutive sixes pulled off
Mohammad Asif. For Yousuf Youhana and Shoaib Akhtar, who had also been
part of the Pakistan team Gilchrist destroyed in Hobart five years
earlier, there was a touch of déjà vu.
102* v England, Perth, 2006-07
Only
Viv Richards has reached a century faster than the 57 balls it took
Gilchrist on his home ground in the 2006-07 Ashes. On a boiling Perth
day he sizzled, taking to Monty Panesar (24 runs in an over that
started with a dot) and Matthew Hoggard in a stunning burst, which
included 12 fours and four sixes. Had he known about the record he
could have broken it, but no message came from the dressing room, and
he was glad he didn't get there. "Viv deserves that mantle as the
fastest hundred," he said.
149 v Sri Lanka, World Cup final, Bridgetown, 2006-07
It's
one thing to blast runs in any old ODI, but only the best of the best
save their finest moments for the biggest stage. Gilchrist's 149 in the
World Cup final gave spectators reason to remember the match for pure
cricketing brilliance, not its farcical finish in the dark. After
morning drizzle made the fans nervously check their schedules for the
reserve day, Gilchrist reminded them why they were there. He belted
eight sixes in his 129-ball display, and for a while it seemed he could
make 200 even in an innings reduced to 38 overs. He was so mesmerising
that occasional boos came from the crowd when he gave the strike to
Matthew Hayden. Squash ball or not, this was undoubtedly the pinnacle
of a glittering ODI career.