Czech Republic opener Sabawoon Davizi has broken Rohit Sharma’s nearly seven-year-old record with a century in losing cause against Austria in a T20I clash on July 9. Davizi scored an unbeaten 111 from 71 balls to achieve the record in the ongoing Central Europe Cup. His strike rate of 156.33 is the lowest by a batter with T20I hundred in losing cause.
Rohit scored 106 runs from 66 deliveries at a strike rate of 160.66. Against South Africa in 2015 which helped India post 199/5 at Dharamsala. Despite India's big total, half-centuries from AB de Villiers and JP Duminy helped the visitors chase down the target in final over.
Only two Czech Republic batters crossed double figures while others failed to make an impact. The two crucial partnerships were shared between openers Davizi and Dylan Steyn (53 runs), followed by skipper Arun Ashokan (59 runs for second wicket).
Davizi hit 14 boundaries and three sixes in his 111-run knock. Also, he carried his bat as Czech Republic posted 182/6.
Two coincidences
Interestingly, both centuries came while batting first. While Rohit had support from other batters, Davizi helped his team post a fighting total single-handedly.
Similar to India vs South Africa T20I clash, Austria chased down the total in 19.4 overs as well. Mirza Ahsan's 57, skipper Razmal Shigiwal's 46 and Shahil Momin's unbeaten 48 helped Austria win the game with two balls to spare.
Davizi's impressive numbers
While Rohit holds the record for most T20I hundreds (4), Davizi has scored three centuries so far. Also, he is the highest run-scorer in T20Is for Czech Republic. The 25-year-old is also nearing the 1,000 run-mark in the T20I format. He has 930 runs from 21 appearances at an average of 51.66 and a strike rate of 150.
Earlier this month, Davizi also became one of the few all-rounders to score a half-century and take a four-wicket haul in the same T20I, a feat recently achieved by Hardik Pandya in the first T20I vs England.
