200 in an ODI…? Checked.
I personally witnessed that incredible 194 that Anwar had scored against India in the Independence Cup. I still remember going through a mix of emotions as his innings progressed. Anger, frustration, sadness, which slowly gave way to anticipation, incredulous , eagerness, and sheer admiration. I remember most of the crowd feeling the same, you know, where you’d want your team to win, but also an individual to win. I was hoping against hope that someone would overcome that score on the same day, but that was not to happen.
It was close again with Ganguly reaching 183 against SL in a world cup, Dhoni reaching a similar level, and even Tendulkar coming close. At that point, I thought it would be the closest he’d personally come to achieving it.
In these days and times , with shorter boundaries, batsmen-friendly(almost brotherly) wickets, and the advent of the T20, I felt that the 200 would be breached soon. With folks like Sehwag, Gibbs, Gayle, Afridi, Pieterson, it was just going to be a matter of time right?
But somehow, it wasn’t happening too easily. A big reason for it perhaps was exhaustion- physical and mental. It’s not easy to bat for such a long period of time, and continue scoring at a pace fast enough to get your 200 within the format, the expectations of the crowd, the opposition’s fielders, and most importantly, control your physical and mental demon.
It took a 36 year old veteran, one who has not played much of T20s (opted out of his team), someone who has changed his batting style radically, and one who carries an insane amount of expectations which weigh infinitely more than his bat to show how it’s done.
This is not going to be the last time someone crosses the 200 barrier in an ODI. This was just the first. I tend to think that it will be broken again, soon . Maybe even in this very game, who knows. But it will happen again, and happen more often.
But for now, let’s just take a bow and celebrate The First One.
The First One (courtesy:BBC)
Brilliant stuff. I’m sure Anwar would be the first to congratulate him.
I think the reason it hasn’t been done for a while is because it needs so many different things to occur simultaneously. Also, the fact that only the batsmen that are in early have a chance to do it, reduces the likelihood of it being a more common occurrence.
Posted by Stani Army | February 24, 2010, 3:19 pmStani, and congratulate he did! I was witness to the Anwar innings. One of the few pieces of cricketing history that was etched in my mind!
You’re correct, there has to be lots of things to go right for such an event to occur, but with the recent developments (or deconstruction) in cricket such as the T20, powerplays, batsmen-favored rules, I thought that the scales were tilted favorably towards batsmen reaching such landmarks.
Posted by thevickerman | March 1, 2010, 6:49 amI think Anwar’s record was broken by CK coventry of Zimbabwe last year when he scored 194*. I always believed that either Jayasuriya or Tendulkar will score a double century in Odi’s one day. 200 in 50 overs on any pitch against any bowling attack is a major achievement, but this was done against SA that increases the value of his innings.
Posted by Cricketfiles | February 24, 2010, 5:46 pmCricketfiles, welcome!
You’re correct. I should have mentioned CK too. My bad!
I always thought that it would be one of Sehwag, Gibbs ( esp. in that 434 game ), Jayasuriya, or a completely unknown entity who’d break it. Looks like you’re a good guesser! I might have to use your skills in the stock market!
Posted by thevickerman | March 1, 2010, 6:53 amAmazing should watch the match not highlights but have to look if somebody so crazy a fan of Sachin who uploaded whole inning at least as I think highlights just snatch the feeling on the inning from it.
Well I have asked him for many more in next 10 years, he can play till that right?
Posted by Mudassar Ijaz | February 24, 2010, 7:05 pmHi Mudassar, any luck finding a good highlights link of the innings?
Posted by thevickerman | March 1, 2010, 6:55 amnot yet didn’t find enough time to search deeply, mostly relying on cricket-online.tv .
If anyone know anything better let us know guys
Posted by Mudassar Ijaz | March 1, 2010, 1:56 pmThe thing about Tendulkar is even after so many years, he still remains our best and most consistent batsman. People say he should retire – well isn’t he still the best we have? Who else can score runs as consistently as he can? Amazing innings and the worlds first ODI double century could not have gone to a better person.
Posted by Rayden | February 25, 2010, 2:15 pmRayden! Long time man! how are you?
I agree. I think that with guys like Tendulkar , it’s a psychological thing. People have pointed out that he has lost his aggressiveness in batting yada yada yada. Just have a look at his record in the last few years in both the formats, he seems to be piling on the runs. His role’s different now, and he is playing it to perfection!
Posted by thevickerman | March 1, 2010, 7:09 am