5 Biggest knocks by wicketkeepers in one-day internationals

There was a time in cricket when the primary job of wicket-keepers was to keep wickets. Anything they used to get as a batsman was considered as a bonus.

Now times have changed, so as the expectations from wicket-keepers. They are expected to deliver both as a wicket-keeper and as a batsman. In fact, some of them have taken the world by storm via their batting.

Adam Gilchrist was the first wicket-keeper batsman of this crop. He was the one who made the world to stand up and take notice through his devastating batting. Then came MS Dhoni another wonderful talent, who turned out to be a perfect successor to Gilchrist as a swash-buckling wicket-keeper batsman.

Let's take a look at 5 best knocks by wicket-keepers in terms of runs in one-day internationals:

---

#1 MS Dhoni (183*)

Dhoni flicking a ball

Not a surprise that MS Dhoni is leading this chart, arguably the best finisher the game has ever seen, Dhoni is a master chaser.

India was chasing a daunting 299 to win against Sri Lanka at Jaipur during 2005. There was a lot of pressure as India lost Sachin early. In came a flashing young Dhoni with long locks and he conquered the stage that too with some style.

Dhoni scored 183 not out in just 145 balls with 10 massive sixes. India won the match with 23 balls to spare.

#2 Quinton de Kock (178)

Quinton de Kock

A batsman who causes mayhem with an innocuous-looking baby face. de Kock is a great mix of elegance and power.

South Africa was chasing 295 to win against Australia at Centurion during 2016. It was a good wicket to bat on and de Kock made full use of it.

He scored 178 runs from just 113 balls with 11 towering sixes. de Kock's domination was evident from the fact that South Africa chased down the target in just 36.2 overs.

---

#3 Adam Gilchrist (172)

Gilchrist smashing a ball out of the park

Original super-batsman of the wicketkeeping community, Gilchrist used to open for Australia in one-day cricket.

Gilchrist scored his 9,619 runs from 287 matches at a superb strike rate of 96.94 with 16 centuries.

It was at Hobart in 2004 when Gilchrist got stuck into a weak Zimbabwe team and scored his highest ODI score of 172 from 126 balls. Australia won the match by 148 runs.

#4 Luke Ronchi (170)

Ronchi celebrating a milestone

Probably the most audacious innings on this list. New Zealand was tottering at 93 for 5 and walked in Luke Ronchi in a world of his own. Ronchi smashed Sri Lankan bowling all around the park with disdain and took his team to a mammoth total of 360.

Ronchi scored 170 not out from just 99 balls with 9 sixes. New Zealand won the match with a margin of 108 runs

#5 Kumar Sangakkara (169)

Sangakkara playing a drive

A list which talks about great wicketkeeping batsmen can never be complete without the mention of this one name, Kumar Sangakkara. Arguably the best wicket keeping batsman of all time.

Sangakkara scored monumental 14,234 runs from 404 matches with 25 centuries.

It was at Colombo in 2013 against South Africa, Sangakkara was in his elements and he scored 169 runs from 137 balls with six beautiful hits over the fence. Sri Lanka reached a total of 320 runs and won the match easily by 180 runs.

---

Send us news tips at [email protected]