Batsmen who can score 200 in ODIs

Scoring a 100 is special but scoring a 200 is rare in ODIs. In 1984 Sir Vivan Richards came really close to scoring a 200 when he scored 189* from 170 balls. It remained the highest score in ODIs for a long time until Saeed Anwar scored 194 from just 146 balls against Indian in 1997. He could have become the first player to score a double century but Tendulkar took his wicket when he was just 6 runs short.

Since then many batsmen came close to breaking Saeed Anwar's record, like when Sachin scored 186* against New Zeland or when Sanath Jayasuriya went berserk against India in 1999 and scored 189 but got out in the 49th over. Charles Coventry from Zimbabwe equaled Anwar's score in 2009 against Bangladesh yet the 200 score was yet to be breached.

The barrier of 200 was broken when the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar scored 200* from 147 balls against South Africa in 2009. He could have scored more but he didn't get much strike in the last 10 overs. He was in 190s around the 40 over-mark.

After his historic knock, many followed Sachin to cross 200. His own opening partner Virender Sehwag broke his record when he scored 219 against West Indies in 2011. Rohit Sharma not only followed them but scored more than 200 thrice. The first one was against Australia in 2013 when he scored 209. He broke Sehwag's highest of 219 when he scored a mammoth 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014 and it is still the world record for the highest total by a player in an ODI. Sri Lanka was again at the receiving end of his willow when he scored 208* in 2017.

Till 2015 only Indian cricketers who had scored double centuries in ODIs. Chris Gayle became the first non-Indian and the first player to get to 200 in a World Cup when he scored 215 against Zimbabwe. Martin Guptill in the same World Cup scored 237* against West Indies. Recently Fakhar Zaman scored 210* against Zimbabwe and became the first Pakistani player to do it.

Let us now look at the players who have not scored a 200 yet but can score one in the future.

#1 Virat Kohli

The current Indian captain, Virat Kohli is one of the best if not the best player of the current era. He is equally good in all the three formats but he is class apart in ODIs. He already has 35 hundreds to his name and has scored close to 10000 runs in ODIs. He already has 6 double hundreds to his name in Tests but is yet to score one in ODIs.

The closet he came to scoring 200 was in March 2012 when he scored 183 against Pakistan while chasing 330. On two more occasions, he has scored more than 150 - once against South Africa this year and another against New Zeland in 2016 when he scored 154*. Off late the Indian openers have performed consistently and he hasn't gotten the chance to score big hundreds but knowing his class, it should not be too difficult for him.

#2 David Warner

The Aussie opener, David Warner has come close to scoring a 200 quite a few times. He has scored more than 150 on five separate occasions. He consistently scores big hundreds. In the World Cup in 2015 against Afghanistan, he scored 178 off 133 balls at a strike rate of 133.83. In that match, he got out in the 38th over.

Something similar happened again in 2017 against Pakistan when he scored 179 off just 128 balls and this time got out in the 42nd over. If in either of these matches, he'd have batted for a few overs more, he would have easily broken some records. In my honest opinion, he just needs some more luck to cross the 200 run mark.

#3 Quinton de Kock

South Africa's wicket-keeper batsman, Quinton de Kock has already made his name as a great opening batsman. He has scored more than 4000 runs at an average of more than 45 including 13 hundreds which includes some big ones.

When he scored 178 against Australia in Centurion they were chasing just 295 and he got out when the team's score was 280. Likewise while chasing 279 against Bangladesh he scored 168*. Maybe if the score to chase was a little more he might have achieved a double hundred. He has a strike rate of close to 95 in ODIs and is a very good timer of the ball. He has a knack for scoring big hundreds and can certainly achieve the 200-mark one day.

#4 Jason Roy

The English opener Jason Roy is a treat to watch when he starts hitting from the middle of the bat. He has scored close to 2500 runs at a strike rate of close to 105. He has 6 hundreds to his name out of which 2 were massive.

Chasing 306 against Sri Lanka at The Oval, he smacked the ball all around the park and scored 162 off just 118 balls. In January this year, Australia was at the receiving end of his wildfire, when he scored 180 from 151 balls while chasing 305. He got out when the team's score was 281. Had he stayed till the end, he might have gotten one double ton to his name.

#5 Alex Hales

The other English opening batsman Alex Hales is no less than Jason Roy in terms of hitting the ball real hard. Both of them together provide fast starts to their team which is one of the reasons why England has scored more than 300 runs in ODIs consistently.

The top two ODI scores now belong to England with Hales contributing massively in them. In second highest total of 443/3 against Pakistan in 2016, Alex Hales scored 171 off 122 balls and got out in the 37th over. In the match where they achieved the highest score of 481/6 against Australia this year, Hales scored 147 off just 92 balls. What is interesting to note is that in this match Hales came one down to bat in the 20th over when Jason Roy got out. Even then, he could achieve this score.

#6 Even Lewis

Like Chris Gayle his opening partner, Evin Lewis is also a hard ball hitter. He has the ability to clear the ground at will. He is a clean striker of the ball and came close to scoring a 200 last year against England in The Oval when he scored 176* off just 130 balls including 17 boundaries and 7 towering sixes.

He was not destined for a 200 that day as he was retired hurt but he certainly has the ability to score one.