5 Best Asian opening batsmen

The openers are vital to the team as they decide the course of the game. When an opener comes out all guns blazing it’s up to the middle order to carry on the momentum. When the openers play slow and steady, it’s a boon as well as a bane. They might get out after wasting the balls or speed up the scoring rate.

This is the importance of an opener. An opener gets ample time to read the pitch, settle and accelerate the innings, at the same time he has to face the new ball and disallow the bowlers to settle with his counter-attack. Cricket has seen numerous openers from Clive Lloyd to Mehidy Hasan, only a few have been able to conquer the bowlers and leave a mark in our memories. Here we list 5 best Asian openers of all time in ODI cricket:

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#1. Sachin Tendulkar

The God of cricket garnered the opening position in 344 matches. Azharuddin’s decision to open the innings with Sachin turned out to be a beneficial move as he went on to become one of the greatest openers of all time. Sachin made a mark in his very first match as an opener with a blazing 82 runs off just 49 balls. Tendulkar has scored a humongous 15310 runs while opening with an average of 48.30. Sachin reached the milestone of first 200 in ODIs while opening.

Unlike the attacking openers, Sachin had his own style of approach that made him one of the greatest openers to play the game. The staggering numbers provide an evidence for the same. Sachin who has made a legacy for himself will also be remembered for his opening stint as well.

#2. Sanath Jayasuriya

The explosive opener from Srilanka made a name for himself with an aggressive approach which was rare those days. Jayasuriya along with his partner Romesh Kaluwitharana revolutionized opening the innings. Jayasuriya attacked the opponent bowlers with no mercy as his gameplay in first 15 overs was like the death overs.

The southpaw’s innings of 189 against India at Sharjah with 21 fours and 4 sixes remains a testimony to his opening stint. Jayasuriya opened the innings for Srilanka in 383 innings and has piled up 12740 runs with an average 34.62. The opener played a key role in the Srilankan team that won the 1996 world cup.

#3. Virender Sehwag

If hitting a six at 295 to reach 300 will be enough to give an amazing intro to the opener, his boundaries of the very first ball of the innings are also equally qualified for the same. The bashing opener gave the much-needed momentum to the Indian innings with his aggressive approach. In the 212 matches he opened the batting for India, Sehwag has 7518 runs with an average of 36.50. Like his partner Sachin, Sehwag also holds a double century while opening.

Of the 15 centuries the opener has scored, 12 of them came had a strike rate of over 100 which summarises his supremacy while opening the batting for India. Although Sehwag retired way back in 2013, his fearlessness approach still lives in our memory and India is yet to find an opener who can fill in the shoes of ‘nawab of najafgarh’.

#4. Saeed Anwar

Born and brought up in Karachi, Saeed Anwar is one of the greatest openers the Pakistan team has ever produced. Saeed Anwar who mostly opened with Aamir Sohail tried to stay at the crease for the maximum time he can and guide the team across the line. While Pakistan had the Bowling attack that could win matches at ease, they lacked a batsman who can drive the innings for them which was fulfilled by Saeed Anwar.

The left-handed batsman opened the innings for Pakistan in 220 innings and scored a whopping 8156 runs in 220 matches with an average of 39.98. Anwar has 12 centuries to his name. Saeed Anwar’s knock of 194 was the highest ODI score since 1997 until Sachin broke the record in 2010.

#5. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma will remain one of the best examples for ‘when talent meets hard work’. In his early years, Rohit Sharma had an average start to his career and got bashed by the critics and fans as a waste of talent. Rohit Sharma proved them wrong when he has promoted up the order by MS Dhoni. Ever since his promotion as an opener in 2013, Rohit has had a dream run and has made a name for himself.

Rohit usually prolongs his time at the crease with a proper plan which has transformed into a big inning player. The 3 double centuries stand an example for the same. Rohit has scored 5098 runs in 103 innings he opened with an amazing average of 56.02. Hit-man has 17 hundred while opening gives an adequate illustration for his unimaginable transformation.

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