ESPNcricinfo Awards 2018 ODI batting nominees: fifty-over fury

Click here for the ODI bowling nominees

Jason Roy
180 v Australia
first ODI, Melbourne
Only one visiting team had successfully chased a 300-plus target against Australia before Jason Roy blew another such total away, with 16 fours and five sixes. Chasing 305, Roy showed no respect to Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, and took England past 50 in the fifth over. He brought up his fifty off 32 balls and his hundred off 92. His last 80 runs came off 59 deliveries, and by the time he was dismissed, England needed only 24 off 45, which they knocked off with seven balls to spare.

Virat Kohli
160 not out v South Africa
third ODI, Cape Town
A masterclass in ODI batting from Kohli. He took his time when Shikhar Dhawan was going at it, anchored the innings when the middle order collapsed, and stepped on the gas towards the end. Having gathered 100 of his runs with his feet, he looked physically tired, but the supreme athlete he is, he had enough in the tank to hit Kagiso Rabada for a six and a four off the final two deliveries to take India to 303. Apart from him and Dhawan, no other Indian batsman reached 20.

Ross Taylor
181 not out v England
fourth ODI, Dunedin
Taylor, on one leg, trumped centuries by Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root to seal a thriller for New Zealand. Chasing 336, New Zealand lost both openers for ducks before Taylor stabilised the innings, first with Kane Williamson and then with Tom Latham. Taylor brought up his hundred from 98 balls, but New Zealand still needed 117 when he hurt his leg while going for a second run. Then came the carnage: Taylor belted his next 72 runs off 41 deliveries, hitting six fours and four sixes, to take his side home with three deliveries to spare.

Jos Buttler
110 not out v Australia
fifth ODI, Manchester
A Buttler special from No. 6 helped England complete a 5-0 whitewash against Australia. England were reduced to 27 for 4 in their chase of 206, and that soon became 114 for 8, but by then Buttler had his eye in, having moved to 47 off 66. He added 81 for the ninth wicket with Adil Rashid; Rashid's contribution was 20. England were on 195 when Rashid was out to Marcus Stoinis, but Buttler smashed the next ball for a six to bring up his century. Fifteen balls later, he drove the same bowler through covers to take England to victory.

Joe Root
113 not out v India
second ODI, Lord's
An innings that once again underlined Root's importance in England's ODI side. Kuldeep Yadav, who had taken 6 for 25 in the first ODI, dismissed England's openers again, but Root ensured there was no encore for Kuldeep. He took 33 off 29 balls from the spinner, and added 103 for the third wicket with Eoin Morgan. India bounced back and reduced England to 239 for 6 in the 42nd over, but Root stayed firm and, with David Willey, took England to 322 for 7, a total that proved too much for India. Scoring at almost a run a ball without any risks, Root showed there were many ways to skin a cat.

Fakhar Zaman
210 not out v Zimbabwe
fourth ODI, Bulawayo
The highest individual ODI score of the year. Yes, it came against a weak attack in a dead rubber, but that does not take too much of the shine off a double-hundred. In the middle of an amazing run, Zaman smashed 24 fours and five sixes en route to breaking Saeed Anwar's 21-year-old record for the highest individual ODI score by a Pakistan player. He brought his hundred up off 92 balls, and cruised to 200 in the next 56. He and Imam-ul-Haq added a record 304 for the first wicket, and Pakistan posted their highest ODI total. In response, Zimbabwe fell short of Zaman's score by 55 runs.

Mushfiqur Rahim
144 v Sri Lanka
Asia Cup, Dubai
With Bangladesh effectively 3 for 3 after two overs, Mushfiqur Rahim played what was arguably the greatest ODI innings by a batsman from his country. Along with Mohammad Mithun, he took the side to 134 before Bangladesh stumbled again and found themselves on 142 for 5. Batting with the lower order, he brought up his hundred, off 123 balls, before adding 32 off 16 in a tenth-wicket stand with an injured Tamim Iqbal. Mushfiqur was the last man out, in the final over of the innings, and by then Bangladesh had a winning total on the board.

Liton Das
121 v India
Asia Cup final, Dubai
Not many batsmen in world cricket back themselves to step out against Jasprit Bumrah. Das showed he had the courage and skill to execute the move during his maiden ODI hundred. He was equally disdainful against Yuzvendra Chahal, hitting the legspinner for two sixes in an over. In a game where no other batsman from either side scored a fifty, Das batted on a different level; the other batsmen managed just 63 from 129 balls during his stay. India chased down the 223-run target off the final ball but that didn't take any of the sheen off Das' knock.

David Miller
139 v Australia
third ODI, Hobart
Coming in at 55 for 3 in a series decider, Miller produced his career-best score. Against an attack that contained Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, he struck 13 fours and four sixes, and added 252 for the fourth wicket with Faf du Plessis. After getting to his fifty off 64 balls, Miller shifted gear. The next 44 deliveries produced 86 runs, including three fours and a six in one Cummins over. South Africa scored 174 from their last 15 overs, which took the game away from Australia.

Shai Hope
123 not out v India
second ODI, Visakhapatnam
It's not often one talks about someone else in a game where Virat Kohli has scored a big hundred, but this innings qualifies. Hope did exactly what a set batsman should do in a big chase - anchor the innings and stay till the end. Chasing 322, he and Shimron Hetmyer took West Indies to 221 in the 32nd over before Hetmyer was out. Hope brought the equation down to 66 off 72 before India's spinners shut the taps off. But whenever the asking rate threatened to go out of the reach, Hope found a boundary. With 14 required off the final over, he hit a last-ball four to tie the game.

Click here for the ODI bowling nominees