4 batsmen who changed the trend of slow starts in ODI Cricket

There was a time in cricket when scoring runs swiftly was a tough ask, primarily because the pitches were not batsmen-friendly and the batsmen were circumspect to the new ball. Moreover, the bowlers had devised new variations which made matters even worse for the batsmen to score freely. Although there were fielding restrictions, more often than not the batsmen failed to capitalize on it. The new ball was seen as a threat rather than an opportunity to score runs. It will not be a misnomer to call this era as 'The golden era of fast bowling', which witnessed the bowling legends like Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Waqar Younis, Dennis Lilee, Malcolm Marshall, etc.

The opener's sole job was to play out the new ball, in order to ease the pressure on the middle-order batsmen, which in turn accounted for defensive stroke-play and cautious slow starts.

However, there were a few batsmen who had different plans to counter the swing and pace with their attacking cricket.

#1 Romesh Kaluwitharana

Kaluwitharana started his career as a middle-order batsman in 1990. Failing to impress in the middle-order, the wicket-keeper batsman was pushed to open the innings alongside Sanath Jayasuriya. Kaluwitharana caught plenty of eyeballs with his phenomenal stroke-play as he played a vital role in the 1996 World Cup.

Kaluwitharana played 189 One-Day Internationals for Sri Lanka scoring 3711 runs at an average of 22.22 and an impressive strike rate of 77.7.

Romesh Kaluwitharana

#2 Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi started his career at an age of 16 as a leg-break bowling all-rounder. He proved his prowess as a batsman in his second ODI, scoring a 37-ball ton against Sri Lanka, which remained a world record for almost 17 years. Afridi had the ability to annihilate any bowling attack and he was one of the most dangerous batsmen of his era.

The all-rounder ended up scoring 6892 ODI runs at an amazing strike rate of 117.01, which included 351 mammoth sixes.

Canada v Pakistan: Group A - 2011 ICC World Cup

#3 Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya is one of the legends to have played the game. Jayasuriya was a nightmare for the bowlers because of his elegant stroke play and a wide range of shots. The duo of Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya destroyed many bowling units. Jayasuriya scored 13430 ODI runs at an average of 32.13 at a scintillating strike rate of 91.22. Along with his heroics with the bat, he managed 323 ODI scalps in the 445 matches he featured for Sri Lanka.

South Africa v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy

#4 Virender Sehwag

India v Bangladesh: Group B - 2011 ICC World Cup

Virender Sehwag announced his arrival in international cricket when he scored a test hundred on debut against the mighty South Africa in 2001. Sehwag, along with Sachin, stitched a 220 run stand for the 5th wicket but ended up on the losing side. He scored a blistering 69-ball century against New Zealand in his 15th ODI when he was asked to open the innings for India, announcing himself to the world of One-Day cricket. Sehwag on the virtue of his tremendous hand-eye coordination could hit boundaries at his will. It was because of the Sachin-Sehwag opening partnerships in the 2003 World Cup that India made it to the ffinal of the tournament.

Sehwag became the second batsmen after his idol, the master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar, to score a double hundred in a One-Day International against the West Indies in Indore.

Sehwag featured in 251 ODIs for India accumulating 8273 runs at an impressive average of 35.09 and an unbelievable strike rate of 104.34. His batting was a perfect blend of class and power.