Double Century in ODI World Cup

Scoring a double century in a World Cup match is one of batting's ultimate achievements. Only three players have reached 200 in the tournament's history — Chris Gayle's 215, Martin Guptill's 237 not out, and Glenn Maxwell's miraculous 201 not out in 2023. This is the complete story of every World Cup double hundred.

World Cup Double Centuries: The Complete List

Batsman	Score	Team	Year	Opposition	Venue
Martin Guptill	237*	New Zealand	2015	West Indies	Wellington
Chris Gayle	215	West Indies	2015	Zimbabwe	Canberra
Glenn Maxwell	201*	Australia	2023	Afghanistan	Mumbai

For the first 40 years of World Cup cricket, nobody reached 200. Then two came along in the same tournament in 2015 — and eight years later, Maxwell produced arguably the greatest ODI innings ever played to join them.

The Three World Cup Double Hundreds

Martin Guptill 237* (2015)

Detail	Info
Match	Quarter-final vs West Indies, Wellington
Balls	163
Fours/Sixes	24 fours, 11 sixes

Guptill's 237 not out is the highest individual score in World Cup history and the second-highest in all ODIs. It came in a quarter-final, making it the highest score in a World Cup knockout match. New Zealand posted 393 for 6 and won by 143 runs, with Guptill's innings a masterclass in pacing — watchful early, then utterly brutal at the death.

Chris Gayle 215 (2015)

Detail	Info
Match	vs Zimbabwe, Canberra
Balls	147
Fours/Sixes	10 fours, 16 sixes

Gayle's 215 was the first-ever World Cup double century, setting the benchmark just weeks before Guptill broke it. Walking in at 0 for 1, Gayle added 372 with Marlon Samuels — then a record ODI partnership — in a display of clean hitting that left Canberra's fielders as spectators.

Glenn Maxwell 201* (2023)

Detail	Info
Match	vs Afghanistan, Wankhede, Mumbai, 7 Nov 2023
Balls	128
Fours/Sixes	21 fours, 10 sixes

If Guptill's was the biggest and Gayle's the first, Maxwell's was the most miraculous. Australia were 91 for 7 chasing 292 when Maxwell, suffering severe cramp and barely able to move, launched one of the great counter-attacks. With Pat Cummins blocking at the other end (12 not out from 68 balls), Maxwell added an unbroken 202 for the eighth wicket, finishing 201 not out and sealing a three-wicket win with 19 balls to spare.

The innings is widely regarded as the greatest in ODI history. Dropped on 33, nearly lbw first ball, cramping so badly he could hardly run — Maxwell simply stood still and hit everything into the stands. Ravi Shastri compared it to Kapil Dev's 175 in 1983; many rated it even higher given the match situation.

Glenn Maxwell's 201 not out came with Australia at 91 for 7 — the greatest rescue act in World Cup history, played on one leg.

Near Misses: The Highest Scores Before 2015

Batsman	Score	Year	Opposition
Gary Kirsten	188*	1996	UAE
Sourav Ganguly	183	1999	Sri Lanka
Viv Richards	181	1987	Sri Lanka
Kapil Dev	175*	1983	Zimbabwe

Before 2015, no one had crossed 200 in a World Cup. Gary Kirsten's 188 not out stood as the record for nearly two decades, a monument to patience and placement. Ganguly's 183 and Richards' 181 were both innings of rare violence for their eras, while Kapil's 175 not out — played with his team at 17 for 5 — remains the most important.

Double Centuries in All ODIs

The double hundred was once thought impossible in 50-over cricket. Sachin Tendulkar's 200 not out against South Africa in 2010 broke the barrier, and the floodgates opened — though it remains a rare feat.

Batsman	Score	Year	Opposition
Rohit Sharma	264	2014	Sri Lanka
Martin Guptill	237*	2015	West Indies (WC)
Virender Sehwag	219	2011	West Indies
Chris Gayle	215	2015	Zimbabwe (WC)
Fakhar Zaman	210*	2018	Zimbabwe
Pathum Nissanka	210*	2024	Afghanistan
Ishan Kishan	210	2022	Bangladesh
Rohit Sharma	209	2013	Australia
Shubman Gill	208	2023	New Zealand
Rohit Sharma	208*	2017	Sri Lanka
Glenn Maxwell	201*	2023	Afghanistan (WC)

Rohit Sharma is the only batsman with three ODI double hundreds, including the all-time record of 264. His mastery of the format's pacing — accelerating impossibly in the final 15 overs — has never been matched.

Why World Cup Double Hundreds Are So Rare

Only three double hundreds in nearly five decades of World Cups tells its own story. Tournament pressure, better bowling attacks, and the sheer mental weight of the occasion all conspire against batsmen. That two of the three came in 2015 — and the third in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable — only underlines how special each one is.

Notably, all three came in very different ways: Gayle's was pure power from the start, Guptill's was a perfectly paced accumulation that exploded late, and Maxwell's was a rescue mission played on one leg. There is no single template for 200 in a World Cup — only greatness, expressed differently.

The Evolution: From Impossible to Inevitable

For the first 39 years of ODI cricket, the double hundred was considered beyond reach. The highest ODI score crept upward slowly — from the 170s of the 1980s to Saeed Anwar's 194 in 1997, which stood for 13 years. Then Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 200 against South Africa at Gwalior in February 2010 shattered the psychological barrier, and within 20 months Virender Sehwag had raised it to 219.

What changed? Flatter pitches, shorter boundaries, heavier bats, two new balls (which stay harder for longer), and above all a revolution in batting mindset — modern openers attack from ball one rather than building a platform. Power-hitting coaching, T20 leagues and data-driven match-ups have all pushed the ceiling higher. The 2015 World Cup, with its true Australian surfaces, produced two doubles in a single tournament; the 2023 edition in India, on even flatter tracks, somehow produced only Maxwell's — a reminder that pressure still counts for plenty.

Who Could Score the Next World Cup Double Hundred?

The smart money is on the modern generation of fearless openers. Shubman Gill already has an ODI double and scores heavily in World Cups. Travis Head's 137 in the 2023 final showed his appetite for the biggest stage. Heinrich Klaasen's otherworldly power-hitting makes any attack look ordinary on his day, while Rachin Ravindra's breakthrough 2023 tournament marked him as a future great.

Then there is the eternal question of format evolution. With 50-over cricket under pressure from T20 leagues, some wonder whether the ODI double hundred will become more common as batting aggression keeps rising — or rarer, as the format itself fades. Either way, Gayle, Guptill and Maxwell have set a bar that will take something extraordinary to clear.

Who scored the first double century in a World Cup?

Chris Gayle, with 215 against Zimbabwe in Canberra at the 2015 World Cup.

What is the highest individual score in World Cup history?

Martin Guptill's 237 not out for New Zealand against West Indies in the 2015 quarter-final at Wellington.

How many World Cup double centuries are there?

Three: Guptill's 237* (2015), Gayle's 215 (2015) and Maxwell's 201* (2023).

What makes Maxwell's 201* so special?

It came with Australia at 91 for 7 chasing 292, with Maxwell barely able to move through cramp. It is widely rated the greatest ODI innings ever played.

Who has the most ODI double hundreds?

Rohit Sharma, with three — 264, 209 and 208* — including the highest ODI score of all time.

Has anyone scored a double hundred in a World Cup final?

No. The highest score in a World Cup final remains Adam Gilchrist's 149 for Australia against Sri Lanka in 2007.