This match was the 2,082nd Limited Overs International in cricket history.
The first wicket partnership of 140 runs between Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden is Australia's best for this wicket against Zimbabwe, surpassing the 98 run partnership between Gilchrist and Mark Waugh at Sydney on January 28, 2001.
Gilchrist (172 off 126 balls) recorded the highest score by a wicketkeeper in LOIs, bettering his own score of 154 (off 129 balls) made against Sri Lanka at Melbourne on February 7, 1999. Gilchrist has made five of the top 10 individual scores by wicketkeepers.
Gilchrist's innings is in joint tenth place in top scores by an individual batsman in LOIs and in second place for Australia. He missed the highest score by an Australian by just one run. The record is still held by Mark Waugh, who made 173 (off 148 balls) against the West Indies at Melbourne on February 9, 2001.
Gilchrist's 150 came off just 110 balls, which is the fastest by any batsman in LOIs. The previous record stood in the name of West Indian Brian Lara, who took 111 balls for his 150 against Sri Lanka in a Champions Trophy match at Sharjah on October 16, 1995.
Gilchrist completed his 6000 runs in LOIs when he reached 150. He became the 28th batsman overall and seventh from Australia after Mark Waugh (8,500 runs in 244 matches), Steve Waugh (7,569 in 325), Ricky Ponting (6,658 in 188), Michael Bevan (6,645 in 223), Allan Border (6,524 in 273) and Dean Jones (6,068 in 164) to do so. At the end of his innings, Gilchrist aggregated 6,022 runs in 174 innings from 180 matches at an average of 35.85 with 10 hundreds and 34 fifties.
Gilchrist also completed 20,00 runs in World Series matches in Australia. He became the 11th batsman to do so.
Gilchrist's innings is the highest for Australia against Zimbabwe, obliterating Ricky Ponting's 145 (off 157 balls) at Delhi on April 11, 1998.
The hundred was Gilchrist's fifth in World Series matches in Australia, which equals Ricky Ponting's tally. Now only one batsman, Mark Waugh (8), has scored more hundreds than Gilchrist in these matches.
This was the second time Gilchrist scored 150 or more runs in an LOI. He now joins five other batsmen who have also scored 150 on two occasions. They are: Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar from India, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle from the West Indies, and Sanath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka. Incidentally, West Indian Viv Richards is the only batsman to have made scores of 150 or more on three occasions.
Ricky Ponting's wicket was Grant Flower's hundredth in LOIs. Flower became the second Zimbabwean after his captain Heath Streak (216 wickets in 175 matches) and the 69th bowler overall to reach this landmark. By taking 212 matches to accomplish this feat, Flower became the third slowest to take 100 wickets. Only Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva (303) and India's Sachin Tendulkar (268) have taken more matches than him.
Australia's total (344-7) was their highest against Zimbabwe and ranks in fourth place among all their totals against any opponent. Their previous highest against Zimbabwe was 303 made on two occasions -- at Lord's on June 9, 1999 (for the loss of four wickets), and at Bulawayo QSC on October 21, 1999 (for the loss of six wickets).
The win by 148 runs was Australia's biggest against Zimbabwe. They had beaten Zimbabwe by 128 runs at this same ground on March 14, 1992.
Gilchrist won his 16th Man of the Match award. With this he equalled Dean Jones's tally of MoM awards. Only Mark Waugh (22), Steve Waugh (21), Allan Border (18) and Ricky Ponting (17) have won more such awards than Gilchrist for Australia.
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