Ranking all eight ODI double hundreds
For forty years of ODI cricket, no player managed to score an ODI double hundred. Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry famously came close, but both of their innings were ended at 194 (though Coventry remained not-out).
Then in 2010, rather poetically, Sachin Tendulkar became the first player to accomplish the feat as he conquered a world-class South African attack.
Since then (a sign of how ODI cricket has evolved over the years), there have been seven more double centuries, three of which have been scored by one man: Rohit Sharma.
So how do the eight ODI double hundreds rank based on the quality of their innings?
#8 Rohit Sharma 208* vs Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma’s third double century in December 2017 was arguably the least impressive of the lot as he conquered a quite tired, and honestly poor, Sri Lankan bowling attack.
Yet that does not make the knock any less incredible. Any double century should be appreciated as a rare and extraordinary event which it still is. In fact, the innings was special because of the fantastic manner in which Rohit Sharma accelerated.
Sharma started quite slowly, taking 65 balls to reach his first fifty. From that point onwards, the ‘Hitman’ began to accelerate as he started to take on Sri Lanka’s bowlers, especially the spinners. His second fifty was slightly quicker, as it came at a run a ball.
With only ten overs left in the innings, very few would have predicted a hundred more runs from even the most aggressive of batsmen. Sharma defied those expectations with some brilliant hitting, taking Sri Lanka’s bowlers to task. Nuwan Pradeep, who was smashed for 18 and 15 runs in his last two overs respectively, bore the brunt of the Indian vice-captain's wrath. In fact, Sharma’s second hundred came in an incredible 36 balls.
While Sharma’s knock was unique for its acceleration at the end, in the end, it came against a mediocre bowling attack that was very ordinary at the end of the innings. It was also the third slowest double hundred, coming at a strike-rate of 135.95.
#7 Fakhar Zaman 210* vs Zimbabwe
Fakhar Zaman’s abilities were evident in the Champions Trophy final against India, and he has bettered that effort since with this double hundred against Zimbabwe.
Coming up against a demoralized Zimbabwe side, Zaman started at a relatively mundane pace as his first fifty came in 51 balls.
Meanwhile, solidity at the other end (Imam Ul-Haq was progressing at a similarly steady pace) helped liberate Zaman. His second fifty was far quicker coming in 41 balls as Zaman reached his century.
From that point, the Pakistani batsman was unstoppable as he thrashed the Zimbabwean attack, especially their medium pace bowlers and spinners.
While Zaman’s innings was outstanding, the fact that it came against a very poor attack prevents it from being placed higher in these rankings.
#6 Rohit Sharma 209 vs Australia
The India vs Australia series in 2013 is still one of the most remarkable ODI series in recent times. In hindsight, the series was a harbinger of what was to come in one-day cricket for the next half-decade.
In the seven-match series, five innings saw scores over 350; making that total ‘par’ rather than extraordinary. Perhaps the most special batting performances in a series of remarkable innings was Sharma’s first double hundred (and the third double hundred in ODI history).
Very similarly to the earlier mentioned double hundred against Sri Lanka, Rohit started slowly in his innings against Australia as his first fifty took 71 balls and came at almost the halfway mark in the innings.
From that point onwards, Sharma decided to attack Australia’s spinners: Xavier Doherty and Glenn Maxwell. After that, there was no looking back as Sharma announced his arrival as one of the best ODI batsmen around.
Sharma was particularly spectacular in the last ten overs, as he hit 96 runs (which would be considered excellent for an entire team in that period) before finally being caught out in the last over.
It was one of the most scintillating displays in ODI history up to that point considering it came against a relatively stable bowling attack (though certainly not Australia’s first choice). Sharma also hit a remarkable 16 sixes in the innings, a record which still stands (though it has been tied since by AB De Villiers and Chris Gayle).
However, the innings can’t be ranked higher because it came on an extremely flat track - as proven by the second innings when Australian bowling all-rounder James Faulkner managed to smash his way to his first (and only) ODI hundred.
Moreover, Sharma’s innings came at the slowest pace of any ODI double-hundred.
#5 Virender Sehwag 219 vs West Indies
2011 was a year of two halves for Indian cricket. The first half saw India draw an away test series with South Africa before winning the World Cup.
Yet after that tournament, India’s ageing squad just started to collapse as they were thrashed by England in England. By December, India were on their way to another 4-0 series loss in Australia. However, there was one silver lining in India’s second half: Virender Sehwag’s double century.
In a rather nondescript ODI series between India and West Indies, the Men in Blue were leading 2-1 before going into the fourth ODI vs West Indies.
Sehwag was captain as MS Dhoni was resting before the Australian tour and he chose to bat after winning the toss.
Even the Najafgarh batsman could not have predicted what was going to happen next. Like most Indian innings in that era, the match started with Sehwag and fellow Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir going after the bowling.
By the 22nd over, India were already 170/0 as Sehwag and Gambhir both looked for their centuries. While Sehwag reached his hundred in that over, he also managed to run out Gautam Gambhir. From that point, Sehwag was a man on a mission as he smashed his way to (what was then) the highest ODI score ever by the 44th over.
Indeed almost all the double centuries on this list came in the last two overs. In fact, if Sehwag would not have gotten out in the 47th over, he could have pushed towards 250 and ranked higher on this list.