The most famous cricket form is indeed the ODI International. Only Tests matches were played whenever the game first began, but following the advent of Odis, this became the primary format of a game. The format has been dominated by a number of players. Let’s take a look at the top five players in Limited overs history by runs scored.
Sachin Tendulkar
As far as runs in ODI cricket are concerned, Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart. During the 23 years from 1989 to 2012 he played ODI cricket, Sachin had a long and successful career. Sachin almost claimed every trophy he earned in cricket. Among others, he has smacked Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Warne, McGrath, Lee, Muralitharan, and Akhtar. With the most ODI appearances in the game’s history and with the most runs scored in international cricket, he holds the record for most runs scored. His 18426 runs have been accumulated in 463 games. When India won the 2011 World Cup, Sachin’s dream came true.
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara, the wicket-keeper, and batsman from Sri Lanka have been the second greatest run-scorer throughout ODI world cricket. He is also Sri Lanka’s all-time leading run-scorer in Test and one-day international cricket. For the last 15 years, the seasoned batsman has played for Sri Lanka in one-day internationals (2000 to 2015). He also was a member of Sri Lanka’s World Cup-runner teams in 2007 & 2011. Sangakkara was indeed a consistent batsman who amassed 14234 runs during an enthralling average rate of 41.98. In ODI, the lefthander had 93 fifties & 25 centuries.
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting is in the third position in terms of most runs scored in one-day international cricket, with 13704 runs scored in 365 appearances. Both in Test & ODI cricket, he is Australia’s most run-scorer. He was a 17-year veteran of the One-Day International format (1995 to 2012). He had guided the Australian team to two World Cup victories (2003 and 2007). He has the most ODI victories as a skipper (165 wins out of 230 matches). He’s been amazing over the years, putting up several match-winning efforts, including a 100 in the 2003 World Cup game.
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka’s second player on the list is Sanath Jayasuriya, who has 13430 runs in ODIs. It is widely known that Jayasuriya is an aggressive batsman. One of the best openers to have ever played the game, and he would hit from the outset. He played ODI cricket from 1989 to 2011. As a bowler, you would be nervous when playing against Sri Lanka in the 90s or early 2000s, as he would shatter your confidence. He contributed 221 runs in 6 games for the 1996 Sri Lankan team that won the World Cup.
Mahela Jayawardene
He is the 5th most run-scorer in the 50-over format behind former Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene. His contributions to Sri Lanka’s batting line-up, as well as his leadership of the team, are well remembered. The cricketer played ODIs from 1998 to 2015. Among players to wear Srilankan jerseys in ODI, Jayawardene wore it 448 times, which is the second-highest number of appearances by anyone in ODI history. He scored 12650 runs, including 77 fifties and 19 hundred.
