CWC Qualifiers: USA's Gajanand Singh slams his maiden ODI century
American batter Gajanand Singh smashed a valiant century in the opening fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers against West Indies. Although the USA fell short by 39 runs, Gajanand's century was a key highlight of the match. This was his maiden century for the USA in any format. His knock of 101* was laced with eight fours and two maximums. Here's more.
A fighting hand from Gajanand
Gajanand came to the crease when the USA were tottering 55/4 within 14 overs. He added 42 runs with Aaron Jones to steady the ship. Despite Jones' departure, Gajanand stitched a 58-run stand with Shayan Jahangir. Later, he added 76 runs along with Nosthush Kenjige, taking the total beyond the 250-run mark. Despite his best efforts, the USA could only manage 258/7.
A look at his ODI numbers
Gajanand raced to 835 runs in 27 ODIs at an average of 37.95. Besides his maiden ton, he has smashed five half-centuries in this format. He is the fourth-highest run-scorer for the USA in ODI cricket. Only Monank Patel (1,376), Jones (1,361), and Steven Taylor (1,155) are head of him in the runs tally. Among USA batters, he owns the highest ODI average.
The seventh centurion for the USA in ODIs
Gajanand became the seventh centurion for the USA in ODI cricket. Only Monank has smashed two centuries in this format. Other than that, Jones, Taylor, Sushant Modani, Jaskaran Malhotra and Saiteja Mukkamalla have registered tons for the USA in ODIs.
How did the match pan out?
USA invited WI to bat first and they were reduced to 14/2 within six overs. However, Shai Hope and Johnson Charles stitched a 115-run stand. Later, Roston Chase and Jason Holder also slammed fifties as WI posted 297. In reply, USA kept losing wickets as they were tottering 55/4 until Gajanand slammed a brilliant ton. However, they could only manage 258/7.
