Flashback: The only batsman to face more than 200 balls in an ODI
ODI cricket is a format where batsmen get much more time than the T20s but still have to take into account the scoring rate as well. When it comes to the overall record in terms of balls faced, there have been 9 innings where the batsmen have played 170 or more balls in an ODI innings. However, only 2 of them have come in the 21st century. It is to be noted that ODI cricket was earlier played with a maximum of 60-overs per side. There has been only one player in ODI history who has played more than 200 balls in an ODI innings.
Flashback:
The record for facing the most balls in an ODI belongs to former Kiwi captain Glenn Turner who played an amazing knock against East Africa in the second match of the 1975 World Cup. This was the first-ever ODI World Cup and was played in a 60-over format. New Zealand won the toss in this game and elected to bat first. They posted a good total of 309 runs at the loss of 5 wickets.
New Zealand captain and opener batsman Glenn Turner scored 171 runs off 201 balls and remained not out till the end. He smashed 16 fours and 2 sixes in his wonderful innings. Apart from him, John Parker who came to bat at number 4 also played a vital knock of 66 runs off 68 balls. Even 46 years after this classic innings of Turner, no other batsman has been able to play 200 balls in an ODI innings. Given it is a 50-over format now, the record now looks more unlikely to be broken.
Chasing this challenging total, East Africa never looked to even try for a win as they ended up with a score of 128/8 in 60 overs. Their opener Frasat Ali faced 123 balls but scored only 45 runs which included only 1 four and 1 six. For New Zealand, Dayle Hadlee and Hedley Howarth picked up 3 wickets each to help the team win the game by a big margin of 181 runs.
Glenn Turner is also at the second spot in terms of most balls faced in an ODI. He played this knock in the same World Cup against India where he scored 114 runs off 177 balls. He smacked 13 fours in his knock which helped the team to win by 4 wickets.
