Chasing down huge targets set by the opposition is one of the most challenging tasks for a player. It takes so much willpower, skills, temperament, consistency, and discipline for a player to bag such massive scores to their name. Chasing massive run scores in ODI depends on the player’s ability to remain calm and composed under stressful conditions and frustrate the bowlers by scoring the maximum possible runs.
Today, we look at the top 5 players with the highest centuries while chasing in One Day cricket. Keep scrolling to get recent cricket news, match updates, match reports, and tournament schedules.
- Virat Kohli
Undoubtedly the best batsman of our generation and the only player to score more than 20 centuries while chasing in One-Day cricket history. Kohli made his international cricket debut with an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2008, and his first ODI century came four months later that same year against Sri Lanka at Edens Garden, Kolkata.
Kohli’s hunger for runs is what differentiates him from the rest of his contemporaries. His quality of attention-to-detail and ambition to score the maximum possible runs enables him to play effortlessly for his team. His enthusiasm is contagious. His strength, agility, and velocity are comparable to some of the best athletes in the world.
Since his 2008 ODI debut, Kohli has been the leading run scorer for Team India till 2018. In his career till now, Kohli has played 265 ODI innings, wherein he scored 12,898 runs at an average of 57.53 and a strike rate of 93.62. Kohli is also the fastest player to score over 12,000 ODI runs in history. He has made a total of 46 ODI centuries in his career, 21 of which came while chasing in ODI. His best ODI performance came against Pakistan at Mirpur during the 2012 Asia Cup tournament, wherein he made 183 runs at a strike rate of over 123 and led India to victory.
He is only three centuries short of breaking Tendulkar’s record for the highest ODI centuries and going by his recent performances, it wouldn’t take too long for him to win the title.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Next on the list is an absolute cricket genius, Sachin Tendulkar. He was by India’s side for over 23 years and left an unforgettable legacy behind. His international cricket debut came with a Test match against Pakistan in 1989, and it didn’t take too long for the selectors to notice Tendulkar’s spark. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan a month after his Test debut and went on to become the greatest cricketer of the format in history.
Unlike his contemporaries, he didn’t have any signature batting style since he played an end number of strokes and pulled off each of them in style. He was thorough with the technicalities of the game and chased down impossible scores for his team.
In his 23 years of batting brilliance, he scored 18,426 ODI runs, the highest in the format’s history, at an average of 44.83 and a strike rate of over 80. Tendulkar has the longest ODI career of all time, and it is safe to say that he utilized his time exceptionally well. There is nothing quite like Tendulkar’s charm, passion, and dedication to cricket.
He is the first player in ODI history to score a double-century. Out of his 49 ODI centuries, 11 of them came while chasing for the team.
3. Rohit Sharma
.Next on the list is the first and only player to have scored three double centuries in One Day cricket, Rohit Sharma. He is unarguably one of the most successful white ball cricketers of this generation. After facing a lot of backlash during the initial periods of his cricket journey, Sharma has established himself as the most consistent player among the Men in Blue.
Sharma’s first ODI century came three years after his debut against Ireland in 2007. He was the leading run-scorer for India in the 2015 and 2019 ODIs. In 2019, Sharma played 28 ODI matches, which is equivalent to 27 innings, and managed to score 1490 runs with half-a-dozen centuries.
The current white ball cricket captain of India has played 243 ODIs till now and scored 9,825 runs at an average of 48.63 and a strike rate of over 90, including 30 centuries and 48 half-centuries. Once established as an opener, Sharma is an absolute nightmare for anyone on the other side of the pitch. His effortless personality is nowhere close to the beast he becomes on the field.
4. Chris Gayle
The West Indies cricketer, Chris Gayle, makes it at No. 4 on the list of batsmen with highest centuries while chasing in One Day cricket. The Jamaica-born cricketer made his international debut with an ODI against India in 1999 and became the 2nd West Indies cricketer to cross the 12,000 run mark in the format.
Gayle is one of the best left-handed players in white ball cricket. In his career till now, Gayle has been a part of 301 ODIs, which is equivalent to 294 innings, and scored 10,480 runs with 15 centuries and 37 half-centuries. He also scored these runs at an average of 37.83 and a strike rate of 87.19. His best performance came during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, wherein he scored 215 runs against Zimbabwe, making him one of the only five batsmen to have an ODI double-century to their name.
5. Sanath Jayasuriya
Jayasuriya was among the pioneers of Sri Lankan cricket and one of the best all-rounders of his era. The Sri Lankan all-rounder made his ODI debut against the Aussies in 1989. In his two-decade-long ODI career, Jayasuriya made over 13,000 runs with 28 centuries and 68 half-centuries. He also built these massive scores at an average of 32.36 and a strike rate of over 90. 40 percent of his centuries came while chasing in ODIs. Jayasuriya’s career-best ODI performance came during the 2000 Champions Trophy, wherein he scored 189 runs at a strike rate of 117.39. He played his last ODI against England at the Oval in 2011.
