OTD| One of Australia’s finest batting talents Adam Gilchrist was born in 1971

One man will always be a key player in any conversation regarding “wicketkeeper-batsman” and that man is none other than former Australian vice captain Adam Gilchrist. Adam Gilchrist is one of the revolutionary cricketers who brought a massive change in cricket. Before his arrival on the international stage wicketkeepers used to be reluctant batters and a team would not rely much on their wicketkeepers to deliver with the bat. But Adam Gilchrist transformed cricket with his destructive batting and clever wicketkeeping. 

The Beginning

Adam Gilchrist earned his maiden call-up for the ODI side between Australia and South Africa in 1996. He had to wait for three more years to find his place in the test side. His test debut came in 1999. His first century in international cricket came in ODI cricket against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1998. Whereas, his first test century came against Pakistan at Hobart when he scored 149 not out. 

In the later phase of his career, he mastered T20 cricket as well. In 2005, he made his T20 debut against New Zealand.

The Overview

Adam Gilchrist made a huge impact on Australian Cricket across formats. In the whites, he scored 17 centuries, mostly in the lower middle order rescuing Australia from crises. 

He had an equally illustrious career in ODI cricket. Gilchrist played 287 ODI games scoring 9619 runs at an average of 35.89. As an opener, he would destroy the opposition bowling order in the powerplay. It was he who used to give the momentum to the Australian team along with Matthew Hayden to give Australia some momentum and a psychological edge. 

Adam Gilchrist remained Vice Captain for Australia under the leadership of Ricky Ponting and was very crucial in the glorious phase of Australian cricket. In the 2007 ODI World Cup final he scored a century to cap off the golden era with a World title. 

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