Sometimes it takes 40 years to bridge a schism of
29 runs.
New Zealand skipper Glenn Turner hit up an
unbeaten 171 on the first day of the World Cup, 7th June 1975. It
came against East Africa, a team never heard of again, except that one of its
constituents Kenya emerged 21 years later to become part of the One-day
International circuit. This monumental essay spanned 201 deliveries, the only
200-ball innings in One-dayers. Only 18 One-day Internationals had been played
before this, and it was the highest score at the time.
The Indian captain Kapil Dev broke this record
with his exhilarating 175 not out in the heroic rescue act, also against
first-timers Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.
In another rearguard strike, the supercilious
marauder Vivian Richards smashed an unbeaten 189 off the English bowlers in
1984. This was now the high mark in all One-day Internationals. He took the
record in the World Cup too, blasting the Sri Lankans for 181 in 1987.
South African left-handed opener Gary Kirsten carved
out 188 not out against unheralded United Arab Emirates in 1996, the highest in
the World Cup till the 2015 tournament.
Meanwhile in 1997, another southpaw opening
batsman, the Pakistani Saeed Anwar, hammered 194 versus India, taking the
One-day record. Little-known Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe emulated the feat
with an unbeaten knock against Bangladesh in 2009.
The first double century was smashed by the
little champion Sachin Tendulkar, a round 200 off the South African attack in
2010. This set off a flurry of double centuries by Indian batsmen. Inevitably,
it was the irrepressible Virender Sehwag who knocked up 219 against the West Indies
the next year.
Rohit Sharma was fast becoming a phenomenon in
the One-day game. He stroked 209 against Australia in 2013, and the following
year hoisted a monumental 264 off the hapless Sri Lankans, still the One-day
record.
A double-century in the World Cup was bound to
come sooner than later, and it did in 2015. Not surprisingly, it was the
belligerent Chris Gayle who was the first to the milestone. He tonked the
Zimbabweans for 215 off 147 deliveries, the first non-Indian to hit up a double
century in One-dayers. The 16 sixes that he rocketed are the maximum in a World
Cup innings, equalling the feats of Rohit Sharma and A.B. de Villiers in all
One-day Internationals. He also crashed 10 fours. These 136 runs in boundaries
were the highest in an innings in the World Cup at that stage.
Gayle’s 372-run partnership for the 2nd
wicket with Marlon Samuels is the highest ever in the World Cup and in all
One-day Internationals. It bettered the 318-run stand between Sourav Ganguly
and Rahul Dravid for the same wicket against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. Gayle
had a dream match. Besides his historic double century and record partnership
with Samuels, he also grabbed two wickets for 35 runs off his 6 overs and
pouched a catch.
In all One-day Internationals, Gayle and Samuels
beat the 331-run association between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid versus
New Zealand, also for the 2nd wicket in 1999. In May 2019, John
Campbell and Shai Hope came close to the Gayle-Samuels record when they posted
an opening stand of 365 off the Irish attack. The only other triple century
partnership in One-day Internationals is the 304 raised for the first wicket
between Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman against Zimbabwe in 2018.
Less than a month after Gayle blasted his
double-century, New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill racked up an
unbeaten 237 off 163 balls, ironically against Gayle’s team West Indies in the
quarter-final. This was a consecutive hundred by Guptill, following his
100-ball 105 off the Bangladesh bowling. He became the 14th batsman
to carry his bat through a completed World Cup innings, scoring over 60 percent
of his team’s total, with no other batsman scoring even a half-century.
The 162 runs in boundaries, comprising 11
sixes and 24 fours, hammered by Guptill are the most in a World Cup match,
surpassing Gayle’s 136 (16 sixes, 10 fours) in his own double-century earlier. Guptill’s
24 fours are the most in a World Cup innings, two more than Tillakaratne
Dilshan against Bangladesh at Melbourne in this 2015 tournament. The 11 sixes
smashed by Guptill are the second-highest in a World Cup knock after the 16
rocketed by Gayle.
Chris Gayle’s record may have fallen, but he
was not completely put in the shade in this match. He smashed 61 off 33 balls,
racing to his fifty off just 26 deliveries. There were 8 sixes and 2 fours in
his blitzkrieg, 56 runs in boundaries, an amazing percentage of 91.80.
Gayle’s double century helped the West Indies pile
up a total of 372 for two, their highest in the World Cup and also, at the time,
in all One-day Internationals. Similarly, Guptill’s knock raised New Zealand’s biggest
World Cup score of 393 for six.
Amazingly, Rohit Sharma smashed a third double
hundred in 2017, an unbeaten 208 against Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman
knocked up the eighth double century in One-day Internationals with his 210 not
out versus Zimbabwe in 2018 in that huge stand with Imam-ul-Haq.
Will the swinging and seaming conditions in
the first half of the English summer of 2019 permit a World Cup double ton?
Sourav Ganguly came close with his 183 at Taunton twenty years ago.
The schism is just 17 runs now.
The schism is just 17 runs now.
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted
on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
Follow
his blogs:
Indra
Vikram Singh’s books are available at attractive prices on Amazon:
The Big Book of World Cup Cricket
1975-2011
Published
in India by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-4-3
Crowning Glory
Published
by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-6-7
Don’s Century
Published
in India by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-5-0
A Maharaja’s Turf
Published
in India by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-3-6
Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books:
Indian Spring, on India’s triumph in
the cricket World Cup 2011
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