2018 has been a great year for one day international cricket but what made it great were some of the special knocks that will always be remembered by cricket world. A lot of records were broken and new ones were created in the process. 2018 witnessed the highest one day international score of 481 by England and a double century by Fakhar Zaman against Zimbabwe.
Here we will look at top five knocks by batsmen which which will be recalled as the highlights of year 2018.
5. Jonny Bairstow -138 / Alex Hales -147 vs Australia
It was 19th of June when Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales wrecked havoc and in the process England registered highest one day international team score of 481. Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales came together at a score of 159 and put on 151 run partnership scoring at more than 10 runs per over. There were 31 fours and 10 sixes hit between the duo and both of them scored at a strike rate of more than 150.
4. David Miller - 139 vs Australia
South Africa were reeling at 55 for the loss of three wickets in the third one day international against Australia in Hobart. David Miller came to the crease and joined his captain Faf du Plesis and both of them batted sensibly during the start. It was David Miller who really turned the crowd on when he went into his "if it is in your arc, it has to be out of the park" zone. David Miller scored 139 of 108 deliveries and with that innings he put a tape on the mouths of his critics.
3. Jason Roy - 180 vs Australia
Australia were riding high by setting a target of 305 runs with Aaron Finch scoring 104 runs but Jason Roy had other ideas and he made a mockery of Finch's hundred by registering his highest individual score of 180 runs. It was also the highest score by and English batsman in one day international cricket. Jason Roy was hitting the balls from the middle of the bat and looked in full control. What made his innings special was the quality of pace attack Australia had. With the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins bowling at you and getting tonked all over the park, that is extremely special.
2. Virat Kohli - 160* vs South Africa
It wouldn't have been fair if I had not included the best in the business in this list. Every now and then he keeps on producing innings of quality and it was no different in 2018. Having scored 1202 runs in the year alone, almost 50% of his runs came against South Africa. Hi best knock came against the same opposition in the third one day international of the 6-match odi series. He scored an unbeaten 160 runs against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Lungi Ngidi. He started cautiously when Dhawan was scoring quick and accelerated towards the end of the innings. India kept loosing wickets but that didn't make any difference as Kohli kept batting like he always does. His innings included some graceful cover drives and on drives which he has mastered over the time
1.Ross Taylor - 181 vs England
New Zealand were down 2-1 in the series and it was a must win game for the Kiwis. After setting up a total of 336 with the help of tons from the Captain Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, England quickly got rid if the Kiwi openers for just two runs on the board. England would have never imagined what followed after that as Dunedin witnessed a Ross Taylor epic. He played the most useful and best innings of his life in my opinion and snatched a win from the claws of mighty England. He hit 17 fours and 6 sixes in his unbeaten innings of 181 runs of just 147 deliveries. He looked at his prime and none of the bowlers looked to trouble him. He stitched some crucial partnerships but kept loosing players at the other end but that didn't show any lapse of concentration in the veteran.
The above rankings are not according to ICC or any other cricket board.
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