The Indian cricket team is making heads turn with its outstanding performance in the 2023 edition of the ICC ODI World Cup. Playing in home conditions, the Men in Blue have reached second place in the points table following their recent victory against the Bangladesh side by seven wickets.
The game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune witnessed an all-round performance by the hosts as they excelled in all facets of the game be it batting, bowling, or fielding.
Meanwhile, it was also a match to rejoice for the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli as they paved their way into the elite list of the top five run-scorers in World Cup history. With his knock of 48 runs, Sharma replaced the likes of AB de Villiers and while smacking his 48th ODI hundred, Kohli went past Brian Lara.
Let’s take a look at the top five players who are ruling the run-scoring charts in World Cup history.
#5 Rohit Sharma
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is having a memorable ride in the ICC World Cup 2023 both as a leader and as a batter. While India is second in the points table, Rohit has occupied the first place in the run-scoring list with a whopping 265 runs in four matches at an average of 66.25.
In a span of less than a decade from 2015 to 2023, Sharma has featured in 21 World Cup matches scoring 1243 runs at an average of over 65 and a strike rate of over 102. While his highest score is 140 runs, he boasts of hammering seven hundreds and four fifties.
Sharma’s best performance in a World Cup came during the 2019 edition as he hit a massive 648 runs in nine matches at an average of 81. He also made it to the history books by hitting five centuries.
#4 Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer from India in World Cup history
It is hard to not mention the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli when talking about batting records and this list of top run-scorers in World Cup history is no exception. The right-hander has played a remarkable job and led from the front for the Indian cricket team in all the ICC tournaments in the past decade and is thus in fourth place in the elite list.
Kohli went past Brian Lara and AB de Villiers to reach the remarkable front. In the time period from 2011 to 2023, Virat has batted in a total of 30 World Cup games and ended up garnering 1289 runs at an average of over 53 and a strike rate of over 87. He has hammered three centuries and eight fifties with his highest score being 107 runs.
The 34-year-old played one of his best knocks in the game against Bangladesh in the ongoing tournament as he smacked 103 runs in 97 balls with the help of six boundaries and four maximums at a strike rate of 106.19. Kohli’s knock helped India chase 257 runs in 41.3 overs and score a win by seven wickets.
Despite the four maximums he hit against Bangladesh on Thursday, Kohli is the only player on this list and in the Top 10 run-scorers of the Cricket World Cup as well with the number of maximums in the World Cup in single digit (9).
#3 Kumar Sangakkara
Despite playing his last ODI World Cup in 2015, Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara occupies the third place in the elite list of the top run-scorers in World Cup history. He has 1532 runs to his name in 37 matches at a strike rate of 86.55 and an average of over 56. He has also smacked seven centuries and one fifty for Sri Lanka while he got out on a duck only once.
It was during the 2015 World Cup in a game against Scotland that Kumar Sangakkara ended up registering his highest score of 124. Batting first, the island nation put up a score of 363 runs as Kumar hammered 124 runs with the help of 13 fours and 4 sixes. His century helped Sri Lanka in securing a win by a massive 148 runs.
#2 Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting is the only Australian player to feature in this list
The most successful Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also holds the post of being the top batter for the Australian cricket team. In his prime, Ponting smacked a lot of runs and was known for terrorizing the opposition bowlers. This is the reason that he still occupies the second place in the list of five players with the most runs in World Cup history.
It would not be easy for any current or upcoming player to breach past Ponting as he has 1743 runs under his belt in a whopping 46 World Cup matches, played between 1996 and 2011. His highest score in a World game reads 140 runs while he also enjoys an average of over 45 and a strike rate of over 79.
Along with five hundred and six fifties, the former Australian captain also holds the record for smacking 145 boundaries and 31 maximums in the World Cup.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar
It is not hard to guess that Sachin Tendulkar occupies the top place in the list of players with the most runs in World Cup history. Considered the ‘God of Cricket’, Sachin enjoys domination on almost all the batting records and is miles ahead of the former and current cricket players.
The difference between Tendulkar and second-best Ponting is too big to ignore as he has 2278 to his name from 44 World Cup innings. Sachin started his World Cup journey in 1992 while his last outing came in 2011 after India lifted the cup under the leadership of MS Dhoni to give the Little Master a perfect gift for his contribution to the team.
In 44 World Cup innings, Tendulkar maintained an average of 56.95 and a strike rate of 88.98 while he also managed to hit six hundreds and 15 fifties. Playing against Namibia during the 2003 World Cup, Sachin smashed 152 runs off 151 balls to record his highest World Cup score. His brilliant performance helped India post 311 runs in the first innings and score a win by stunning 181 runs.