Russell Arnold is one of the most underrated players to ever play for Sri Lanka. He has been one of the better cricketers to play for Sri Lanka. He has played cricket for 10 years between 1997-2007. Russell Arnold has played in 44 Test Matches in his career. In those 44 Matches he has scored 1821 runs at an average of 28.02 with 3 Test Hundreds. He has also played in 180 ODIs for Sri Lanka and in these matches he has made 3950 runs at an average of 35.27. He has 1 ODI Hundred to his name.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Batting Performances of Russell Arnold
1) 123 vs Pakistan (1999)
This was the first century of Russell Arnold in test cricket and this was the highest score of his international career. This was in a test match against Pakistan when they had the best fast bowlers in the world. Russell Arnold batted at the top of the order and he made a sublime 123 Runs from 208 balls. He had a strike rate of 59.13 and he hit 20 fours in the innings meaning a total of 80 runs in boundaries. He hit fours all around the ground and he destroyed the Pakistan bowling. Russell Arnold showed the world that day that he was a very good player.
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2) 104* vs Zimbabwe (1999)
This was the second Test century by Russell Arnold in the year 1999. This was a very good year for him and he made this hundred against the best Zimbabwe team which has ever played cricket. He played 243 balls in this innings and he made a big century batting as an opener. He had a strike rate of 42.80 and he hit 14 fours in this Innings meaning 56 runs in boundaries. He played a lot of dot balls in this innings and due to his century this match was a draw.
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3) 109 vs England (2002)
This was the 3rd and last century by Russell Arnold in test cricket. And even though Sri Lanka lost this match it does not take away from the brilliance of this innings. It was in the second batting innings of Sri Lanka and they were under pressure. Russell Arnold batted at the top of the order and he stayed there for 236 balls and he made 109 Runs. He hit 13 fours in this innings and he had a strike rate of 46.19. He batted his heart out for Sri Lanka but unfortunately it was not enough.
4) 103 vs Zimbabwe (1999)
This was the best ODI innings that Russell Arnold played for Sri Lanka during his long career. Russell Arnold hit a brutal 103 runs and he played 121 balls at a strike rate of 85.12. Russell Arnold hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in this innings meaning 46 runs in boundaries. Russell Arnold batted at the middle order in ODI Cricket which was different from his role in test cricket. Sri Lanka won this match by 13 runs and the hundred by Russell Arnold made all the difference.
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5) 91* vs New Zealand (2001)
This is the second best ODI innings that he has played in his career and this was a match winning knock. Sri Lanka were chasing a score of 237 and they were in trouble but Russell Arnold came in and he hit 91* from 116 balls. He had a strike rate of 78.45 and he hit 7 fours in this innings meaning 28 runs in boundaries. He ran for more than 60 runs in this match winning performance and he earned the respect of everyone. He showed that he can bat anywhere and win the match for Sri Lanka.
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