The game of cricket is full of milestones for the players. The batsmen especially often divide their innings between several milestones. From the first run to the first boundary. From the first half-century to a century, batters spend their innings in achieving milestones. However, if you ask a batsmen what his most desired milestone is, no one will shy away from naming a century as their favorite milestone. The century celebrations hence turn iconic on several occasions.
Every player has their unique way of celebrating a century. However, few century celebrations find a abode in our memories. Let’s look at few such century celebrations which will always remain embedded in our hearts.
Steve Smith:
Some memories ignite an emotional side in us and leave us with a heavy heart. This one celebration from Steve Smith could probably rank amongst the top Some memories are so deeply rooted in our brains that even the strongest of crumbles cannot erase these particular incidents.
This Steve Smith celebration is no less than one such event. The incident took place when the Indian national team was touring Australia in 2014.
The Australian side received the melancholy news of the demise of Phil Hughes, who expired after being hit by a bouncer from Sean Abbott.
Smith, who scored a century in the match, dedicated his century to his New South Wales teammate. He looked at the sky and pointed his bat towards the direction.
Smith later stated that he was numb during the game.
Misbah Ul Haq:
The current chief selector and coach, Misbah Ul Haq, won our hearts with his unique celebrations in 2016. The then 42-year old Captain sparked a brief tradition of celebrating achievements with a workout routine.
The incident took place in 2016 when Misbah Ul Haq reached his century at Lords. The skipper immediately dropped to his palms and toes and performed a string of push-ups, which could give complex even to the fittest cricketers of the era.
Misbah later quoted that he performed the push-ups to commemorate the Pakistani Army.
Ross Taylor:
Ross Taylor has been a pivotal player for the Blackcaps for the past decade. Anybody, who follows cricket, can identify Ross Taylor for his unique century celebration. The star middle-order batsman sticks his tongue out after reaching the three-figure mark.
The celebration which has become a tradition started as a part of his comeback. Taylor recalls that he celebrated with his tongue stuck out after making a comeback into the age group side.
He later used the same celebration for the century he struck against Australia on making a comeback.
Taylor suggested that his daughter loved the style and enjoyed every time Taylor sticks his tongue out to celebrate. Hence, he made it a regular occurrence.
Chris Gayle:
The Universe boss is arguably the greatest ever batsmen to play the shortest format of the game, and he lets it all out with his celebrations. The Jamaican left-hander adores the hard work of Portugal and Juventus star player Cristiano Ronaldo. Gayle has revealed his adoration several times and also displayed it on the field in an IPL game.
The incident takes us back to 2015 when Gayle celebrated his century against Kings XI Punjab in the iconic flex and jumpstyle of Ronaldo. The celebration is embedded in the hearts of all cricket fans.
