A century ago, 200 was considered to be a very good total for the team batting first in an odi. It is really amazing to see that nowadays a single player can score a double hundred in odi's. The game of cricket has really changed a lot since its introduction. During the mid period of 20th century if a team scored around 200, it was considered to be a good and defendable score. The reason for that was probably the ground size was bigger than what it is today and the bats those days had thin edges. As the time passed by, the boundaries became shorter and the bats became thicker which helped teams post big totals on the board.
It was in 1997 when Saeed Anwar hit 194 against a good bowling attack of India. He had a good opportunity to score 200 but he fell short by just six runs. Cricket pundits back then thought that this record is going to stay for decades and some even thought that this cannot be broken. Here we are now, in 2018, where already 8 double tons have been notched up and the day isn't far where we will see a triple hundred scored by a batter.
Thirteen years later after Saeed Anwar's record, it had to be master blaster Sachin Tendulkar to break the record in 2010 against South Africa. This was the first time a double ton was scored in an odi and perhaps the best one. Sachin Tendulkar played cricket for more than two decades and almost every cricket fan wanted him to be the first to score a double ton, a feat he richly deserved.
Nearly two years later it was Tendulkar's teammate Virender Sehwag who notched up a double ton against Windies and broke Sachin's record by scoring 19 runs more than Sahin. After Sachin scored his double ton, he said in a press conference that Sehwag will be the man to break his record and he did.
Two years later it was Rohit Sharma, again an Indian who scored the third double hundred in one day Internationals. He is only cricketer in the world to have multiple double tons in odi's. He notched up his second double ton in 2015 and third in 2017. He holds the record for highest total by a player in one day Internationals. His 264 came in 2015 against a battered Zimbabwean bowling attack but scoring 264 isn't easy as it sounds.
The man from Caribbean scored a double ton against Zimbabwe in 2015. It was only a matter of time for him to get his name written in the elite list as everyone knows about his striking ability. He is one of the best strikers of the modern game and we might see some more coming from him.
A Kiwi, Martin Guptill also made it to the list by scoring a double hundred against Windies in 2015 becoming the first player from the continent of Australia to score a double ton. Martin Guptill has been in and out of the New Zealand team but whenever he came in, he made a mark.
Fakhar Zaman is the latest entry in this elite group of cricketers. He made 210 runs just a few days back against Zimbabwe and became the first Pakistani player to do so. He also broke the 21 year old record of Saeed Anwar who was the man with highest score in odi's for Pakistan.
What needs to be seen is that who can break the record set by Rohit Sharma and I believe that day isn't far judging by the fact that the game of cricket is becoming friendlier for batters.
Let me know your thoughts as well.
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