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Best ever ODI innings

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mastimasti

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This may have been done on here before, but after a series with 2 terrific centuries from Zaman, one of which was described by Temba Bavuma as "probably the best I have ever seen" with similar opinions from a number of pundits, which are the best ever ODI innings in your opinion?

I will list my top 10 and when I have time, I may even do a little write up for each (I'm going to stop at 6 now as I have to get ready for work haha):

1. Saeed Anwar 194 - this is an innings I both love and hate...it came against India and led to a Pakistani victory, so I hate it; but it also set the stage for what was possible in an ODI batting innings, years and years before an actual double century.

2. Viv Richards 189 - back when ODI cricket was stuttering and changing, from 60 to 50 overs...heck this game was played across 55 overs per innings, Viv reigned supreme. This innings startled just about anyone who watched it, there had been nothing like that before.

3. Viv Richards 138 - in a world cup final, this is Viv somewhat restrained. The West Indies had grown in a behemoth of a side by now and here Viv played with almost utter disdain for the English bowling. Not the most destructive but a world cup final is a world cup final.

4. Fakhar Zaman 193 - this was an innings filled with heart and destruction. One could even argue if it was not for...let's say less than top notch umpiring, he would have pulled off one of the great ODI victories.

5. Sachin Tendulkar 175 - what a time it was, as India's batsmen struggled to even reach double figures, Tendulkar merely shrugged and dragged his team, kicking and screaming to within 3 runs for a tie and 4 for the win...4 damn runs!

6. Ricky Ponting 140 - world cup final again and it's my favourite ODI batsman ever, Ricky Ponting. His career is an evolution of the game and right here, scoring 140 runs at 115, against one of the all time great India sides and he barely breaks a sweat.

To be continued...


post yours guys!
 
Gibbs’ 175 vs Australia in 2006 by a country-mile.
 
A favorite of mine, even though I'm no diehard fan of him, Sachin's desert storm. It was a crazy innings Sachin in his prime and probably augmented by Tony Greigs commentary. As a 5'7' guy hearing "The little man has hit the big fella for six, he's half his size" makes me smile every time. Probably not the greatest ODI innings but I always make time to watch it on youtube when I'm bored- just pure entertainment.

Greatest would still be Gibbs 175. Dude was out drinking last night, fields for 3 hours chasing balls all around the park. Walks in after an early wicket knowing his team is chasing the highest score ever scored in an ODI. What do you even say about that
 
Miandad 116 vs India also known as the "last ball six" innings. Man smashing a 100 with a 100+SR(in the 80s mind you) while chasing , watching wickets fall around. Hitting the most clutch boundary in the history of cricket and back when sixes were rare. And in a cup final too. What an innings. Beautiful
 
Kabil devs 175 also deserves a mention. Although not against the best bowling attack, he still carried his team from 20-6 to 270 in a must win game. If not for that india wouldnt have made it to the finals or won the world cup.
 
175 - Herschelle Gibbs vs Australia 2006. Best innings ever in a chase

189* - Viv Richards vs England 1984. Incredible innings out f team score of 270 scoring about 100 with Holding for company

175 - Sachin Tendulkar vs Australia 2009. Epic chase

175 - Kapil Dev vs Zimbabwe. On paper not a great bowling attack but India was 17-5 when Kapil came to bat in must win game
 
120 Steve Waugh vs South Africa at WC 1999
Aravinda de Silva 107 vs Australia at WC final 1996
Chris Cairns 102 vs India at Knockout final 2000
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1997. One of the greatest ever ODI innings as the brilliant Saeed Anwar scored 194 against India in Chennai to help Pakistan to a 35-run win <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/6UwRQxYfvR">pic.twitter.com/6UwRQxYfvR</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1527905497113927680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The one by Viv where he scored about 70% of team total in a run chase at 100+ Strike rate vs England has to be the best ever.
 
Aravinda in the 1996 World Cup final.
Pointing in the 2003 World Cup final.

The best innings are those when the stakes are real high
 
Liverpool_Faizan said:
Aravinda in the 1996 World Cup final.
Pointing in the 2003 World Cup final.

The best innings are those when the stakes are real high
Click to expand...

I would rate aravinda's counter attacking 60 odd against india in semi finals in Kolkata in front of 100 thousand people as a better knock. SL were 2 down very early when Aravinda walked in and batted masterfully with confidence and determination rarely seen. Unforgettable strokeplay that was.
In Final he was batting against a wet ball.
 
Saeed anwar's 194 in 1997 was a real big score for that era.
Herchelle gibbs 175 against aussies
Rohit sharma 264
Punters 2003 final knock against india
Gilly knock in 2007 final
Abdul razzaq's 109 against SA
 
Gautam gambir 97 in worldcup final 2011.
Lance klusner innings 1999 wc semi
Ben stokes innings wc final 2019 vs nz
 
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Steve Waugh 120* vs SA in a must win Super 6 match. That knock was one hell of a statement. Andrew Symonds' 143* vs Pakistan in 2003 was also great.
 
King Viv easily! Walked in at 11-2, made 189* in a score of 272 where No one else in the top 8 got to double figures and they were 102-7 at one point.

For that era, unheard of type of innings. It wasn’t just a run fest match like Gibbs’ one either
 
TheSultan said:
King Viv easily! Walked in at 11-2, made 189* in a score of 272 where No one else in the top 8 got to double figures and they were 102-7 at one point.

For that era, unheard of type of innings. It wasn’t just a run fest match like Gibbs’ one either
Click to expand...

In that context, Kapil Dev's 175* against Zimbabwe in 1983 world cup was better. He walked in when his team was 17/5 and went onto score 175*(138) and won his team the game by 31 runs.
 
Rajdeep said:
In that context, Kapil Dev's 175* against Zimbabwe in 1983 world cup was better. He walked in when his team was 17/5 and went onto score 175*(138) and won his team the game by 31 runs.
Click to expand...

It wasn’t better - it was a great innings but against a minnow so cannot possibly be compared. But I acknowledge it was a great innings.
 
For a very good Odi score for me it’s the bowling attack.

Neil Fairbrothers 113 against WI in 1991 was without a doubt the top 3 Odi scores of all time for me.

Ambrose, Walsh, Patterson & Marshall bowling into your ribs constantly was defied by Fairbrothers Century.
 
Ahmed216 said:
Saeed anwar's 194 in 1997 was a real big score for that era.
Herchelle gibbs 175 against aussies
Rohit sharma 264
Punters 2003 final knock against india
Gilly knock in 2007 final
Abdul razzaq's 109 against SA
Click to expand...

That Abdul Razzaq innings is the best innings I have ever witnessed in my entire life. He won Pakistan the game from a position that even the most optimistic among us would say was a near impossible position. It was sustained brutal hitting like nothing I’ve ever seen. Here is how Cricinfo characterised it at the start of their report on the match:

“There are match-winning centuries and there are Match-winning Centuries. You will travel far and wide, maybe even go back in time, but you will struggle to find a more remarkable game-stealing hundred than the one the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi saw tonight.”

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...n-vs-south-africa-2nd-odi-461567/match-report
 
AB de Villiers 92 of 70 vs McGrath, Tait and Hogg. Deserved a century.
 
Kapil Dev innings was at a very difficult time , for me arguably the best one . It changed the whole generation of Indian cricket.
 
Ahmed216 said:
Saeed anwar's 194 in 1997 was a real big score for that era.
Herchelle gibbs 175 against aussies
Rohit sharma 264
Punters 2003 final knock against india
Gilly knock in 2007 final
Abdul razzaq's 109 against SA
Click to expand...

Pretty good list.

I think Fakhars recent 193 in Pakistan's close loss to South Africa was an amazing known to add to the list too.
 
mastimasti said:
This may have been done on here before, but after a series with 2 terrific centuries from Zaman, one of which was described by Temba Bavuma as "probably the best I have ever seen" with similar opinions from a number of pundits, which are the best ever ODI innings in your opinion?

I will list my top 10 and when I have time, I may even do a little write up for each (I'm going to stop at 6 now as I have to get ready for work haha):

1. Saeed Anwar 194 - this is an innings I both love and hate...it came against India and led to a Pakistani victory, so I hate it; but it also set the stage for what was possible in an ODI batting innings, years and years before an actual double century.

2. Viv Richards 189 - back when ODI cricket was stuttering and changing, from 60 to 50 overs...heck this game was played across 55 overs per innings, Viv reigned supreme. This innings startled just about anyone who watched it, there had been nothing like that before.

3. Viv Richards 138 - in a world cup final, this is Viv somewhat restrained. The West Indies had grown in a behemoth of a side by now and here Viv played with almost utter disdain for the English bowling. Not the most destructive but a world cup final is a world cup final.

4. Fakhar Zaman 193 - this was an innings filled with heart and destruction. One could even argue if it was not for...let's say less than top notch umpiring, he would have pulled off one of the great ODI victories.

5. Sachin Tendulkar 175 - what a time it was, as India's batsmen struggled to even reach double figures, Tendulkar merely shrugged and dragged his team, kicking and screaming to within 3 runs for a tie and 4 for the win...4 damn runs!

6. Ricky Ponting 140 - world cup final again and it's my favourite ODI batsman ever, Ricky Ponting. His career is an evolution of the game and right here, scoring 140 runs at 115, against one of the all time great India sides and he barely breaks a sweat.

To be continued...


post yours guys!
Click to expand...

Not sure what’s your criteria but these are surely some really good ODI innings where batters have piled up.

And obviously it’s very hard to choose one but I rate this as one of THE GREATEST ODI innings.

February 18, 1987 Calcutta India. Saleem Malik 72 of 36 balls.

There are 3 crucial factors behind this.

First: You are playing in the backyard of your blood thirsty rival in a zero crowd support.

Second. You are playing in an era where thin planks were used as cricket bats instead of modern day tree trunks. There is no free hit junk, the wickets are not covered overnight, it’s a standard size nice n large boundary, and no T20 culture of scoring at the rate. This rr was almost unthinkable in that era.

Third, and the most important of all. The game situation for Pak was SO BAD that cricket freaks like Imran Khan had given up on this match.
Imran got out and Saleem Malik walked in, and while they crossed, Malik asks Imran what to do? Imran turns his face the other way and shrugs it off by saying this in sheer frustration, “Do whatever the heck you want to do”. And walks away.

Only those can truly value the worth of this innings who watched it live
 
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Colorblind Genius said:
Not sure what’s your criteria but these are surely some really good ODI innings where batters have piled up.

And obviously it’s very hard to choose one but I rate this as one of THE GREATEST ODI innings.

February 18, 1987 Calcutta India. Saleem Malik 72 of 36 balls.

There are 3 crucial factors behind this.

First: You are playing in the backyard of your blood thirsty rival in a zero crowd support.

Second. You are playing in an era where thin planks were used as cricket bats instead of modern day tree trunks. There is no free hit junk, the wickets are not covered overnight, it’s a standard size nice n large boundary, and no T20 culture of scoring at the rate. This rr was almost unthinkable in that era.

Third, and the most important of all. The game situation for Pak was SO BAD that cricket freaks like Imran Khan had given up on this match.
Imran got out and Saleem Malik walked in, and while they crossed, Malik asks Imran what to do? Imran turns his face the other way and shrugs it off by saying this in sheer frustration, “Do whatever the heck you want to do”. And walks away.

Only those can truly value the worth of this innings who watched it live
Click to expand...

I’ve read a lot about this innings. Unfortunately, due the UK not showing this innings, never got to see this even the highlights.

You are very lucky to have watched this live. Wish I had the opportunity.
 
TheSultan said:
I’ve read a lot about this innings. Unfortunately, due the UK not showing this innings, never got to see this even the highlights.

You are very lucky to have watched this live. Wish I had the opportunity.
Click to expand...

I saw that innings on you tube , but picture quality was bad.
 
Saleem Malik 72* vs India in Kolkatta 87. Better then any big hundred. Scored when asking rate was 10 an over. no fielding restrictions, no short boundaries, no white balls etc.. and he was batting with the tail.
 
I'm sorry, but no ODI innings comes close to the 189* by Viv against England. None.

Sorry a mammoth unbeaten 189 out of 272, rescuing WI at 166/9, scoring 102 for the last wicket, against a potent English attack in the 1980s, is simply amazing and is heads and shoulder above any other innings every played.

After daylight, the next contenders would be Kapil's 175 in a knockout game in the 83 World Cup, and then the WC Final innings of Gilchrist, De Silva and Viv as well Gibbs' 175.

But really, Viv's 189 is in a class of its own.
 
Anwar's 194 is a massively overrated innings against a rubbish attack and with the help of a runner half way due to his poor fitness. Razaq's 109 is still the best played by a Pakistani.
 
Kevin Pietersen 91* against Australia at Bristol (2005) — England won by 3 wickets
 
Can't believe no one mentioned Kevin O'Brien's 113 off 63 balls vs England in 2011 WC

Ireland 111/5 vs England after 25 overs chasing 329 to win, their future at stake with ICC planning to reduce WC to 10 teams, and then we witness the most devastating innings in ODIs as Kevin O'Brien single handedly wins the match for Ireland in 1 of the most epic run chases in ODIs
 
Lance Klusener 46* vs Pak 1999 World Cup. Never ever have I seen a batter snatch victory from the best bowling attack of the time in a situation like that one. Wasim, Shoaib and Saqlain- each were hit for a six by Klusener. Maybe not the greatest ODI innings ever, but one of the best.
 
amit said:
Can't believe no one mentioned Kevin O'Brien's 113 off 63 balls vs England in 2011 WC

Ireland 111/5 vs England after 25 overs chasing 329 to win, their future at stake with ICC planning to reduce WC to 10 teams, and then we witness the most devastating innings in ODIs as Kevin O'Brien single handedly wins the match for Ireland in 1 of the most epic run chases in ODIs
Click to expand...

That was a very good surface.
 
Rainbow said:
Lance Klusener 46* vs Pak 1999 World Cup. Never ever have I seen a batter snatch victory from the best bowling attack of the time in a situation like that one. Wasim, Shoaib and Saqlain- each were hit for a six by Klusener. Maybe not the greatest ODI innings ever, but one of the best.
Click to expand...

Klusner would have fetched 18 crore in IPL :))

Absolutely destructive with bat and more than good with ball. Dream player to have in a 20 20 team.
 
Justcrazy said:
That was a very good surface.
Click to expand...

Irrespective of the surface, look at the match situation too. 11th ranked team struggling at 111/5 off 25 overs in a chase of 329 against 1 of the top teams
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1994. A huge partnership of 263 between Aamir Sohail & Inzamam-ul-Haq against New Zealand in Sharjah. At the time this was a record one-day-international partnership for any wicket, with Sohail scoring 134 & Inzamam 137* as Pakistan won by 62 runs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/wqFXfrFoHu">pic.twitter.com/wqFXfrFoHu</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1648960754215710721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2023</a></blockquote>
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For me it’s Shoaib Malik’s 128 v India in the CT

Can’t ever forget that innings
 
Razzaq's 109 against south africa was the best as it was played against a very good attack in an almost impossible situation.
 
I am surprised no one has mentioned it yet:

Shahid Afridi 0(1)
 
Scoring under high pressure, with added points it was at a WC.

By that standard I rate the following as my top 5 ODI knocks of all time:

1) Kapil Dev 175 vs WI
2) Viv 189 vs Eng
3) Herschelle Gibbs 175 vs Aus
4) Kohli 133 vs SL
5) Miandad 116 vs Ind

All of these knocks are iconic and of high quality under pressure. Most were ahead of their time
 
^what I meant to say is the knock has to be memorable and iconic too. Like the Miandad 100, would be remembered for decades mainly due to the final over. So the knock has a lasting legacy.

Kohli’s 133 was the first time he stamped his authority as GOAT chaser. You could substitute it for his 183 as well.
 
Suleiman said:
Scoring under high pressure, with added points it was at a WC.

By that standard I rate the following as my top 5 ODI knocks of all time:

1) Kapil Dev 175 vs WI
2) Viv 189 vs Eng
3) Herschelle Gibbs 175 vs Aus
4) Kohli 133 vs SL
5) Miandad 116 vs Ind

All of these knocks are iconic and of high quality under pressure. Most were ahead of their time
Click to expand...

2019 WC Final hero missing!
 
Gibbs 160 odd to chase 434

Inzy’s semi final innings. Even in todays time that’s a crazy innings.
 
Suleiman said:
Scoring under high pressure, with added points it was at a WC.

By that standard I rate the following as my top 5 ODI knocks of all time:

1) Kapil Dev 175 vs WI
Click to expand...

?

If I remember correctly, this was not against WI. It was against Zimbabwe
 
Stokes knock has to be the best knock purely on pressure criteria.

The so called centurions in the World Cup finals had it relatively easier because they chased down the total with decent enough overs left and a lot of wickets left too while for Stokes, his heart was in his mouth till the last ball and even beyond that( super over as well). It is just massive pressure, a World Cup Final with 15 runs to win and only one wicket left which means you can't even take a single.
 
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razzaq's hundred against SA in UAE... the kinda knock you day dream about as a kid... when all chips are down and you are imagining nothing but perfection... 😆
 
Colorblind Genius said:
?

If I remember correctly, this was not against WI. It was against Zimbabwe
Click to expand...

No you are quite right, it was against Zim. My bad. I always mix up the final with that game. Lol. In that case I would put that knock below Viv’s.
 
Ab Fan said:
Stokes knock has to be the best knock purely on pressure criteria.

The so called centurions in the World Cup finals had it relatively easier because they chased down the total with decent enough overs left and a lot of wickets left too while for Stokes, his heart was in his mouth till the last ball and even beyond that( super over as well). It is just massive pressure, a World Cup Final with 15 runs to win and only one wicket left which means you can't even take a single.
Click to expand...

I don’t rate it that high because a fair bit of luck went into it toward the end, and he didn’t even finish the job. Just got it to a super over. Whatever happened in the super over is a different story. There’s more clinical knocks out there with more domination and impact.

No hate on him. You could put it in the top 10 or 15, but definitely not too 5.

I’d rather put Dhoni’s 91* in the 2011 final ahead of it if we are talking WC final pressure.
 
Inzi’s knock in the 1992 semi final against Kiwis is the greatest ever innings in ODI by a country mile.
7b5d2d5e7a680c7e73676fe3ed82bb05.jpg
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1997. One of the greatest ever ODI innings as the brilliant Saeed Anwar scored 194 against India in Chennai to help Pakistan to a 35-run win <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/VXWZGve9mU">pic.twitter.com/VXWZGve9mU</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1660198449592119297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Fakhar Zaman 193 vs SA in SA is the best for me.

Chasing 300+ total when your team is crumbling and scoring 193 is amazing especially against Rabada and Co in their home ground.
 
Viv's century in 1979 final.
De Silva's century in 1996 final.
Miandad's last ball six innings.
Gibbs 175
Stokes knock in the 2019 final.
Gambhir's 97 in the final.
Bevan's 175 odd (unofficial match)
Kohli's 130 odd in Hobart.
Abdul Razzaq's 109 vs SA.
Lara's 116 in 1996 wc QF
 
DRsohail said:
I have nit watches Kapil Dev , but have watched vivan Richard, that is clearly the bets ODI innings.
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Kapil's both contextually and conditionwise was the most challenging. Ball was wobbling around. 5 down 17 runs. That was a do or die match for India. He lifted the score from 17/5 to 266/8. Scoring even a 100 was a rare feat back int hose days. Scoring 175 was phenomenal and second highest was 24 or so.
 
I don't rate runs scored on batting paradises wehre every tom/dick/harry score runs and one guy inevitably ends up scoring big. Gibbs 175 is one such innings.
 
Ponting WC final ton
Gilchrist WC final ton
Gibbs against Aus in 434 chase
 
That Gibbs innings was special. Anwar's 194, I was very young but I still remember it to this day.

One of the best under-pressure innings I have seen was from Dhoni in the 2011 WC. This guy was seriously out of form, and had the balls to come up the order to take India home. That was memorable.
 
DRsohail said:
Salim Mlaik inning in Calcuta in 1987 has to be one of the best if not in top 5.
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Amazing inns, to score at 10 an over back then, with no fielding restrictions etc.. and pull of that run chase.

Defo one of best ODI inns ever
 
Nobody mentioned Saim's inning here that he played in the 1st ODI against South Africa in south Africa while causing and took his team home.

Also Kamran's inning needs a mention here.
 
My list of best ODI innings (not necessarily in this order):

1) Gibbs's 175 against ATG Australia.
2) Abdul Razzaq's 109*.
3) Saeed Anwar's 194.
4) Kohli's 2012 Hobart knock.
5) Jayasuriya's 189.
6) Gilchrist's 149 in 2007 WC final.
7) Travis Head's century against India in 2023 WC final.
8) Maxwell's 201* against Afghanistan.
9) Fakhar Zaman's 193 against South Africa.
10) AB De Villiers's fastest ODI century.
 
sweep_shot said:
My list of best ODI innings (not necessarily in this order):

1) Gibbs's 175 against ATG Australia.
2) Abdul Razzaq's 109*.
3) Saeed Anwar's 194.
4) Kohli's 2012 Hobart knock.
5) Jayasuriya's 189.
6) Gilchrist's 149 in 2007 WC final.
7) Travis Head's century against India in 2023 WC final.
8) Maxwell's 201* against Afghanistan.
9) Fakhar Zaman's 193 against South Africa.
10) AB De Villiers's fastest ODI century.
Click to expand...
Can you please name the champion bowlers whom Saeed Anwar scored the 194 against?
 
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