Maxing it like Maxwell: Ten other great solo ODI batting performances

Still the record-holder for the highest percentage of runs by a single batter in a completed ODI innings, Richards walked in at 11 for 2 and West Indies were soon 166 for 9. But he added 106 runs with the No. 11 Michael Holding, and in doing so, finished with 189 to his name, then the individual record in ODIs. The other ten batters contributed only 73.

In March 1983, Dev had shown signs of his brilliance with a 38-ball 82 against West Indies in their backyard, but it was this particular innings that entered cricketing lore. Story goes that Dev was in the shower to prep for his middle-order batting role when India slipped to 6 for 3. Soon after, they were 9 for 4, and Dev's shower had to be cut short as he was in next. Soon enough, India were 17 for 5, 78 for 7 and 140 for 8. But Dev motored along, getting to his fifty in 70-odd balls (nobody knows the exact count), then smacked his next fifty in about 30 balls, and ransacked 75 runs from his last 37 or 38 balls. It was the first ODI hundred by an Indian, the highest ODI individual score at the time and a total outlier in terms of domination, as he finished with a strike-rate of almost 127.

Fondly remembered by Pakistan fans for his hat-trick of sixes off Anil Kumble in the innings, opener Anwar smacked the then-highest individual ODI score as Pakistan pumped 327 in Chennai during the Independence Cup. With a crowd cheering India on, and no other Pakistan batter crossing 39, Anwar made full use of the rules that allowed a runner, to display "controlled aggression" by thumping 22 fours and five sixes. He was well on his way to becoming the first man to score an ODI double-century, but top-edged a sweep in the 47th over.

Marlon Samuels offered Guptill a life in the first over, and he never looked back, smashing the (still) highest ODI score at a men's World Cup in a quarter-final match in front of a home crowd. Guptill was in such sublime form that the other New Zealand batters simply handed the strike to him and let him to do his thing. Together, the other batters hit 146 runs in all, while Guptill plundered 162 runs only in fours and sixes. The second-highest score of the innings was Kane Williamson's 42.

The pitch was flat and Sri Lanka looked like a flat outfit too. But a score as high as 264 has happened only once in nearly 4700 games of ODI cricket. In as a replacement in the XI for a rested Shikhar Dhawan, and fresh from a shoulder and finger injury, the first over Rohit faced was a maiden. In fact, he scored only four in his first 18 balls. But then he got to 50 off 72, 100 off 100, 150 off 125, 200 off 151 and 250 off 166 balls. It was a performance that confirmed Rohit would bat nowhere else but as an opener and India finished on a mighty 404.

No Pakistan batter apart from Fakhar crossed 31, leaving the opener to do the bulk of the lifting in the team's pursuit of 342. With regular wickets tumbling, Pakistan were left stranded at 120 for 5, but Fakhar smashed 18 fours and 10 sixes in his 155-ball stay to keep Pakistan single-handedly in the game. By the time the final over came along, Fakhar needed 30 to get in six balls for a remarkable victory, but was run-out on 193. Nonetheless, it remains the highest score in unsuccessful ODI chases and won ESPNcricinfo's award for the best ODI batting innings of 2021.

India's start wasn't ideal with three of the top four failing to impress. But with 351 the target, there was no space for a slowdown and so Tendulkar attacked. He pulled Shane Watson for six and hammered Nathan Hauritz for big shots down the ground, and along with MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, guided India well in the chase. Tendulkar reached his 45th ODI ton in 81 balls, got a life on 135, and soon reached his 150 in 122 deliveries. But when only 19 runs were needed in three overs, Tendulkar tried to scoop debutant Clint McKay over fine leg, and that undid him. He fell for 175, the chase spiraled out of control, and a great Tendulkar innings was on the losing side.