3 players with highest number of innings without a duck in ODIs

One-day format involves a lot of risk-taking, players need to keep the scoreboard ticking and cannot waste a lot of deliveries. Players tend to play their natural game on most occasions and express themselves more freely in the shorter format of cricket.

In one-day cricket, players go for flashy strokes and throw their wicket away on a lot of occasions. However, there have been players in the past who have mastered the art of ODI batting. They used their game-sense, rotated the strike regularly and punished the bad balls. In this article, we take a look at three batsmen who played the highest number of innings without getting out for duck.

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#3 Kepler Wessels

Kepler Wessels became the first cricketer to ever play for two countries in ODIs

Kepler Wessels will be remembered for the fact that he was the first cricketer to ever play for two different countries in the one-day format. The left-handed opener played in 108 matches and scored 3363 runs at an average of 34.67.

Wessels got off to a great start in ODIs as he scored 79 on his debut game against New Zealand in the Benson and Hedges World Series cup in 1983. He finished the series with 249 runs at a decent average of 35.57.

Kepler played in 104 ODIs during his 11-year ODI career but never got out without scoring. He was one of the most reliable batsmen during that period.

#2 Martin Crowe

Martin Crowe is widely regarded as one of the greatest Kiwis batsmen of all-time

Martin Crowe is widely regarded as one of the greatest Kiwis batsmen of all-time. Crowe featured in 143 ODI for New Zealand and scored 4704 runs at an average of 38.55 accompanied by 34 half-centuries and 4 centuries.

He batted higher in the order and led the Kiwis to some magnificent victories. The elegant right-hander was the captain of the 1992 World Cup team and led them to semi-finals.

Crowe was always consistent with his performances and played 119 straight-innings without getting dismissed for 0. This included a 9-year run and finally ended during a game against England at Edgbaston.

#1 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid holds the record for highest number of matches without getting out for a duck in ODIs

Rahul Dravid was known for his ability to negotiate everything thrown at him with his calmness and temperament in test cricket. He was so efficient in the longer format that people forgot how good he was in the shorter format and some critics even went on to call him a 'test cricketer' because he struggled to increase the strike-rate in the latter part of his one-day career.

'The Wall' played in 344 matches for India and scored well over 10000 runs at an average of 39.17. This includes 12 centuries and 83 half-centuries. A career filled with full of accolades, Dravid also holds the record for playing highest number of matches without getting out for a duck in ODIs.

The streak began on 29th August, 1999 and continued for more than 4 years. He played in 120 innings without getting out at 0. The streak eventually ended when he got run-out for nought in the VB series against Australia in 2004.