5 greatest ODI openers of all time

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin remains the greatest ODI opener of all time

Inarguably the greatest ODI opener of all time, Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t even a regular at the top slot when he began his career. Five years after his first game, Tendulkar was bumped up to the opener’s role, and took to it like fish to water, stacking figures that would have previously seemed unachievable.

In 344 games at the top of the order, Sachin amassed 15,130 runs, notching as many as 45 ODI tons at an average of 48.29 and a strike-rate of 89. The most notable feature of his batting was the ability to pace his innings and play starkly different roles in varying phases of the innings. A batsman with almost every stroke in his quiver, Tendulkar unleashed his shots with a watertight batting technique, one that could quickly adapt based on the conditions and the opposition.

What worked for Tendulkar as an opener was his adept utilisation of the powerplay overs, picking up gaps with effortless ease. Even when the fielders spread out, he used to pick bowlers to attack and ran shrewdly between the wickets to keep the run-rate up.