South Africa’s young batting sensation Matthew Breetzke has been in outstanding form since making his ODI debut and has now created history. On Thursday, he played a brilliant knock of 85 runs against England in the second ODI and set a world record by becoming the first-ever player to score fifty or more runs in his first five consecutive ODI matches. With this achievement, Breetzke also broke Navjot Singh Sidhu’s 38-year-old record.
In the second ODI against England, Matthew Breetzke scored 85 runs off 77 balls, marking his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score in ODIs. Earlier, Navjot Singh Sidhu had achieved a similar feat during the 1987 World Cup by scoring fifty or more runs in his first five ODI matches. However, Sidhu did not get a chance to bat in his third ODI, whereas Breetzke managed fifty-plus scores in all five innings, setting a new milestone.
Breetzke now holds the record for scoring the most runs after the first five ODI innings. He became the first player in ODI history to cross the 400-run mark in his first five matches, scoring 463 runs at an impressive average of 94.5. Previously, this record was held by Tom Cooper of the Netherlands, who had scored 374 runs in his first five ODIs.
Breetzke has also set another record by achieving the highest ODI score by a South African batsman at Lord’s, surpassing Herschelle Gibbs’ 74-run knock in 2008. In the second ODI, he also shared a crucial 147-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs for the fifth wicket, which is now the third-highest fifth-wicket partnership for South Africa in ODI history. The highest stands at 172 runs, set by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers in 2012.