5 of the greatest openers in the history of ODI cricket

2. Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist is easily the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of ODI cricket. Gilchrist, along with Matthew Hayden, decimated bowling attacks with disdain at the top of the order.

His cover drive through the off side and his flick over square leg that sent the ball soaring into the crowd made him a nightmare for bowlers. His whirlwind 149 in the 2007 World Cup final will probably go down as one of the greatest knocks ever in World Cup history.

In the 287 matches that he played for Australia, he scored 9619 runs including 55 fifties and 16 hundreds at a strike rate of 96.95

Record

Matches: 287 Runs: 9619 100s: 16 50s: 55 Average: 35.89 Strike Rate: 96.95

1. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is a name that is almost synonymous with the game of cricket.. Hailed as the “God Of Cricket” for his staggering achievements, Tendulkar holds just about every single batting record in the game, including that for the most runs (18426), most hundreds(49), most fifties (96) and the most man of the match awards (62), just to name a few.

Tendulkar’s effortless straight drive made your jaw drop, while his ability to whip the ball between mid-wicket and square leg with the precision of a surgeon made the bowlers gape at him.

His knock of 143 in Sharjah, famously hailed as the desert storm innings, will go down in history as one of the greatest knocks ever played in ODI cricket.

Record

Matches: 463 Runs: 18426 100s: 49 50s: 96 Average: 44.83 Strike Rate: 86.24