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Eoin Morgan, the attacking left-handed batter who led England to their maiden ICC Cricket World Cup title in 2019 and revolutionised white-ball cricket in the country with his fearless approach, turned 37 on Sunday.
Before playing for England, Morgan played for Ireland, representing them in 23 ODIs from 2006-2009 and scoring 744 runs with one century and five fifties. Morgan made his debut for England in 2009 and as they say, the rest is history. Shifting to England helped Morgan get much-needed Test cricket exposure. He represented the Three Lions in 16 Tests, scoring 700 runs at an average of 30.43. He has scored two centuries and three fifties, with the best score of 130. In 248 ODIs, Morgan has scored 7,701 runs at an average of 39.29 and a strike rate of 91.16. He has scored 14 centuries and 47 fifties, with the best score of 148. He is England's most-capped ODI player, with 225 appearances. Also with 6,957 runs at an average of 39.75 with 13 centuries and 42 fifties, he is England's highest-run-scorer in ODIs. He has the second-highest number of ODI tons for England, with Joe Root (16) at the top. Following an early exit in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, England underwent heavy transformation in their batting, whacking it from ball one. Players like Morgan, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, and Jos Buttler were some of the players who were the centre of this new batting revolution, free of fear and conventions. This ultimately led to a moment that would become a crowning jewel of England Cricket and Morgan's history, its maiden ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 at home. With 371 runs in 10 innings at an average of 41.22, with one century and a fifty, Morgan had a huge role to play. His knock of 148 in 71 balls against Afghanistan is one of the most memorable in WC history, as it had four boundaries and a whooping 17 sixes, the highest-ever in ODI history. He led England in 126 ODI matches, winning 76 of them, losing 40, tying two and eight ended in a no-result. With a win percentage of 60.31, he is one of the country's best skippers ever. He also represented England in 115 T20Is, scoring 2,458 runs at an average of 28.58 and a strike rate of over 136. He has scored 14 half-centuries in this format, with the best score of 91. Morgan was also the part of England team that won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2010, which was England's first-ever major cricketing title. In that tournament, he scored 183 runs in seven matches at an average of 36.60, with one fifty. He also led England in 72 T20Is, winning 42, losing 27, tying two and ending one as a no-result. He has a win percentage of 58.33. In all, Morgan was not only a phenomenal batter with a solid record, but also a team-man. His attacking approach meant that he put his team first and no milestones and records were chased selfishly. After England's T20 WC win last year, one can say, even though Morgan has retired, his blueprint of attacking cricket still stays and is prevalent in modern cricket. (ANI)
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