5 most successful opening batsmen for India in ODIs

How have these two performed individually as an opener?
How have these two performed individually as an opener?

India vs South Africa was supposed to be a mouth watering series, a clash of two of the best in the game in the ODI format. However, India has steamrolled past the mighty Proteas in the first three ODIs with relative ease, something that is not seen pretty often with the South African team.

The Virat Kohli-led team's only concern, although not a big one, is the disappointing form of Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. The 'Hitman' was supposed to resurrect his form in the ODI series after a lacklustre performance in the test matches, but his performance so far has been dismal.

Meanwhile, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan is arguably in the prime of his ODI career. Since it is necessary for the openers to give the team a strong start, every team needs strong opening batsmen in their lineup. Over the years, India has produced a plethora of opening batsmen who have etched their name in cricketing history with memorable performances.

Let's take a look at the most successful opening batsmen for India in ODIs

Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan's career has been a roller coaster ride so far.

Dhawan's career has been a roller coaster ride so far.

If a biopic is ever made on the international career of Shikhar Dhawan, it won't be a bad idea to title it 'The Curious Case of Shikhar Dhawan'. A star since his early days at the Under-19 level, Dhawan's international career has been full of ups and downs in all formats of the game. If there is one format that Dhawan has found some stability and consistency, it is the shorter format - the ODIs.

Opening in all the 97 ODI matches he has played for India so far, Gabbar, as he is fondly called, has scored 4124 runs at an impressive average of 45.32. The most interesting aspect of his ODI career so far has been his aggressive batting style, which is evident from his stunning strike rate of 92.84. Not only this, Dhawan has 12 scores of 100+, along with 24 scores of 50 or more.

Rohit Sharma

The Hitman has been the best limited overs batsman for some time now.

The Hitman has been the best limited overs batsman for some time now.

Rohit Sharma's ODI career can easily be divided into two opposite halves. During the first half of his career, he was a young middle order batsman, constantly struggling to score runs whenever he was given the opportunity.

He spent more time warming the benches than he spent scoring runs for the team. After the intermission, he became a different batsman altogether. After being promoted up in the batting order since the management felt he was too good to be left out, Rohit has been one of the best ODI batsmen in the whole world.

Ever since making a jump at the top of the batting order in 2013, Sharma has scored 4492 runs in 91 innings at a staggering average of 54.78, more than 10 points above his career average, and an equally impressive strike rate of 91.28. 14 out of his 16 ODI hundreds have come after he became India's permanent opener, including a record 3 double hundreds. His 264 against Sri Lanka is arguably the best ODI innings of all time.

Virender Sehwag

Viru was a nightmare for all fast bowlers.

Viru was a nightmare for all fast bowlers.

Undoubtedly the most destructive opening batsman of all time, Virender Sehwag was a constant presence at the top of the Indian batting order for a large part of the last 15 years. He formed formidable opening partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Gautam Gambhir over his career.

'The Nawab of Najafgarh' was capable of smashing the bowlers right from the word go, something that he did in almost every single match of his international career. He just played with one philosophy - Watch the ball and just hit it out of the ground.

In his 245 ODI innings, Viru opened the batting for the Indian team 212 times, scoring 7518 runs at an average of 36.50. However, it was his majestic strike rate of 104.71 that was the icing on the cake of his ODI career.

14 out of his 15 ODI hundreds were scored from this opening slot, including his career best score of 219.

Sourav Ganguly

At one point, Dada was the best ODI batsman in the world.

At one point, Dada was the best ODI batsman in the world.

One half of ODIs best opening duo of all time, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was just as good as an opener as his partner(more on him later). Such was Ganguly's batting credibility that fellow teammate Rahul Dravid was forced to say these words - "On the off side, first there is God, then Dada."

He was so good at the top of the order that at a certain point of his career that he was regarded as one of the best batsman in the shorter format. Alhough he often altered his batting position during his tenure as captain, his exploits at the top of the order are well documented.

'The Prince of Kolkata' batted for India in 300 ODI innings, and he opened the innings in 236 of them. At an average of 41.57, slightly above his career average of 41.02, Ganguly scored 9146 runs while opening for India. He scored 19 ODI centuries as an opener, which includes his career best knock of 183 against Sri Lanka in 1999 World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar

The God of Cricket.

The God of Cricket.

There was no doubt that anyone would topple the Master Blaster for the top spot in this list. Sachin Tendulkar was a constant presence at the top of the Indian batting order for almost 20 years and, boy, what an mighty player he was at the top!

There was a time in the late 1990s that the people used to stop watching a match after Sachin got out. This is the impact he had when he was at his prime.

He opened the innings on 340 occasions for India - the most by any player for any batting postion. He scored a record 15310 runs at an average of 48.30 and a strike rate of 88.30.

The time when even a strike rate of 80 was considered impressive, Sachin's strike rate is a specimen of how destructive he was in his prime. 45 out of his 49 ODI hundreds were scored while opening the innings, which include memorable innings like his 186(against New Zealand), the twins hundreds at Sharjah(against Australia) and 200(against South Africa). His records are enough proof to solidify his stance as not only the best opening batsman, but also the best player in the history of cricket.

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Edited by Rajdeep Puri