India vs Australia: Top 5 players fastest to 9000 ODI runs

While there are many players who have made an impact in 50-over cricket over the years, only a handful of them have managed to cross the 9000-run mark. For a player to be able to score 9000 runs in 50-over cricket, it’s a testimony not only to his skills but to his consistency as well.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

The top-order batsmen have an advantage in 50-over cricket in the sense that they get more deliveries to face as compared to the middle-order batsman and hence, have the opportunity to score more runs as well.

The top-order batsmen will always be there in the list of the leading run-getters in ODI cricket, but there are some middle-order batsmen as well who have completed 9000 runs in ODI cricket which is an even more significant achievement considering the positions and the situations they bat in. Here are the top 5 players who are the fastest to 9000 ODI runs.

#1 Virat Kohli (194 innings)

The Indian captain Virat Kohli has been the fastest to 9000 ODI runs till date. He completed his 9000 runs on 29th October 2017 playing against New Zealand in Kanpur. He got there in just 194 innings.

The consistency with which Kohli has churned out runs for India in ODI cricket since making his debut in 2008 has been incredible. And, he has done that in all conditions all round the world. He was given the no. 3 slot very early in his ODI career and he absolutely owned that spot by converting his starts into big scores on a regular basis.

There hasn’t been a downslide in his performance since he has completed his 9000 ODI runs. He is going as strong as ever. He was the second-highest run-scorer in the world in ODI cricket last year as well. The 31-year old has scored 11,625 runs in 243 ODIs so far at an average of 59.61.

#2 AB de Villiers (205 innings)

AB de Villiers also scored his 9000th ODI run against New Zealand, just like Virat Kohli did. The South African right-hander did it in his 205th ODI innings in February 2017 in Wellington.

de Villiers didn’t bat in the top 3 for most parts of his ODI career. He batted at no. 4 for a decent period of time and also batted at no. 5 and no. 6 for South Africa on certain occasions. But the tempo at which he batted and his efficiency to hit boundaries in the latter stages of the innings were the reasons why he was able to score as many as 9000 ODI runs.

The 35-year old retired from international cricket in 2018, but the reports suggest that he might come out of his retirement as the new South African team management wants him back in the South African set-up.

The South African has scored 9577 runs in 228 ODIs so far, averaging 53.50 with 25 centuries and 53 half-centuries. He holds the record of scoring the fastest century ever in ODI cricket when he scored a century off just 31 balls against West Indies at the Wanderers Stadium in 2015.

#3 Rohit Sharma (217 innings)

Rohit Sharma completed his 9000 ODI runs in his 217th ODI innings, playing against Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Sharma made his ODI debut for India 12 years back in 2007 against Ireland. His ODI career can be seen in two halves. For the first six years, while he was batting in the middle order, he was largely inconsistent and was even dropped from the Indian ODI squad a few times.

However, once he started batting at the top of the order for India, his career blossomed as he not only cemented his spot in the Indian ODI squad, he is now on his way of becoming one of the greatest Indian ODI openers of all time.

Before the Bangalore ODI, Sharma has played 216 ODI innings for India and has scored 8996 runs at an average of 48.69. He has got 28 ODI hundreds and 43 ODI fifties to his name at the moment.

Only Sachin Tendulkar and the current Indian captain Virat Kohli have scored more ODI hundreds for India than Rohit Sharma till date.

#4 Sourav Ganguly (228 innings)

The former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly completed his 9000 ODI runs in January 2004 playing against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Ganguly opened the batting with Sachin Tendulkar for a number of years before he decided to put himself down at no. 3 to give a young Virender Sehwag the opportunity to play at the top with Tendulkar.

Ganguly also opened the batting with Sehwag for a few months when Tendulkar was out because of his tennis elbow injury.

Being a left-hander, he was an ideal foil for both Tendulkar and Sehwag. He allowed his partner at the other end to get off to a flyer while settling himself into his innings before going berserk against the spinners in the middle overs.

The left-hander played 311 ODI games for India in a 15-year long ODI career, scoring 11,363 runs at an average of 40.73. Ganguly is fourth in the list of the players who have scored the most number of ODI hundreds for India. He scored 22 hundreds and 72 half-centuries in ODI cricket.

#5 Sachin Tendulkar (235 innings)

It took Sachin Tendulkar 235 ODI innings to get to 9000 ODI runs which might be a surprise to some people. But, Tendulkar was not an opening batsman at the start of his career. He started opening the batting for India only after he played 70-odd ODI games.

Tendulkar used to bat at no. 5 and no. 6 in the initial few years of his ODI career and wasn’t as fluent a scorer back then as he turned out to be later in his career.

When Tendulkar was given the opportunity to open the batting for India because of an injury to Navjot Singh Sidhu, his ODI career just took off and he never looked back.

The Mumbaikar holds most of the ODI batting records at the moment. He is the leading run-scorer of all time in 50-over cricket and has also scored the most number of ODI hundreds. The 46-year old scored 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs he played for India at an average of 44.83 with 49 centuries and 96 half-centuries.

He played his last ODI against the arch-rival Pakistan in March 2012.