5 Players who can overhaul Rohit Sharma’s record of 264 in ODIs

Before the turn of the millennium, the likes of Saeed Anwar, Gary Kirsten, Vivian Richards and Sachin Tendulkar came very close to breaching the 200 run mark in ODIs. The advent of T20 cricket in the mid-noughties was bound to have an impact in 50-over cricket and the hypothesis was validated when Sachin Tendulkar finally made the first ever ODI double hundred in 2010.

Perhaps, it took a little longer than most people thought. Inevitably, the first man to reach that milestone had to be the great Tendulkar, arguably the best batsman to have played the ODI format. He achieved what nobody ever had in the 39-year history of the format. Post Tendulkar’s 200*, six more double hundreds were scored in the next eight years, the last one being Rohit Sharma of India when Sri Lanka toured India in December, 2017.

Indian opener Rohit Sharma remains the only player to have scored a 200 thrice in a career. His second one, a gigantic 264, is also the highest score recorded by a batsman in the history of ODI cricket. 264 really shake you up as a cricket fan if you think deeply about it. There was a time when a similar score was considered to be safe in a 50-over game. But gone are the days when 300 was considered an unassailable target. The way batsmen are going about their business, 375 has become the new 300.

Can Rohit’s record ever be overhauled? The way cricket is played in today’s day and age perhaps, yes. There are a few contenders who could dethrone the Indian right-hander from the top of the pile. Let us have a look at them:

1. David Warner

The Australian vice-captain has registered five scores of over 150 in ODI so far in his career, an all-time record he shares with Tendulkar. The dynamic opener has a very good chance of getting to Rohit’s record because of the attacking nature of his game. His highest score is 179, which was his third score in excess of 170 in this format. He eclipsed his previous best score of 178 by just a run but failed to get his team across the line against South Africa earlier in the year. The 178 was scored against Afghanistan in the World Cup two years ago. When Warner was out caught, more than 12 overs still remained in the Australia innings. If he had remained unbeaten till the last ball of the innings, the opener had a very good chance of eclipsing Rohit’s record.

He bettered his previous best score of 178 by just a run but failed to get his team across the line against South Africa earlier in the year. The 178 was scored against Afghanistan in the World Cup two years ago. When Warner was out caught, more than 12 overs still remained in the Australia innings. If he had remained unbeaten till the last ball of the innings, the opener had a very good chance of eclipsing Rohit’s record.