5 batsmen who scored most runs in a single bilateral ODI series

To be in good nick with the bat is a blessing but to be in such an ominous form that you blow an opponent away and torment them throughout the length of a series, making such deep impacts on the end result of the series, is a whole other thing. Very few batsmen have been able to do that so far and to their credit, it is a near-impossible task.

Let us take a look at the top-five batsmen who have scored the most runs in a single bilateral ODI series. The list features two Indians and two entries from 2018, one of them very recent. We will go up the list in ascending order, starting from least and ending with the best.

#5. Hamilton Masakadza (5 matches, 467 runs, Avg 116.75, Sr 97.29)

When you have to play five ODI games within a time period of six games, conditions are never too easy - we're speaking of involving in 500 overs of cricketing action. However, Hamilton Masakadza did not seem to have any problem of such sorts as Zimbabwe faced Kenya in a five-match ODI series between October 12 and October 18 of 2009. Zimbabwe ended up eventual winners, routing their opponents 4 - 1.

In the first game, Zimbabwe scored 313/4 in 50 overs out of which Masakadza made 156 off 151 balls. Had it not been for an eventual run-out, he could have gone on to score even bigger. The brilliant knock featured 11 fours and 6 sixes as Zimbabwe won by 91 runs. Masakadza was also the man-of-the-match.

In the second game, he helped himself to a 91-ball-66 as Zimbabwe won by 86 runs. In the third ODI, he had the duty of chasing, as he scored a 42-ball-44. Zimbabwe later fell short by 20 runs as Kenya won their only game in the series. In the fourth game, Masakadza could score only 23 off 29 balls, however, Zimbabwe successfully chased the Kenyan target this time.

The best knock of Masakadza was yet to come, as, in the fifth game, Zimbabwe batted first and he blasted his way to a 167-ball-178, including 17 fours and 4 sixes, which propelled the team to 329/3 in 50 overs. Kenya could reach nowhere near the target as Zimbabwe completed the series win with a 142-run victory. Masakadza was the man-of-the-match once again.

Overall, in five matches, Masakadza scored 467 runs with an average of 116.75 and a strike-rate of 97.29. He was awarded man-of-the-series for his supreme effort.

#4. George Bailey (6 matches, 478 runs, Avg 95.60, Sr 116.01)

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The 2013 bilateral series between India and Australia was probably the biggest run fest. In a series that ended as nightmares for bowlers of either team, several batting records were made and broken. We saw 300+ scores in nine out of eleven completed innings, out of which five were 350+ scores. We also saw the records of some lightning-fast chases and some blazing knocks.

Bailey began the series in resounding fashion, scoring 85 off 82 in the first game that Australia won, and he also became man-of-the-match. This was followed by a 50-ball-92 not out which however couldn't help his team win again.

In the third ODI, he gathered a 60-ball-43 which would eventually play a role in Australia winning the game. In the fourth game, he missed out on a very deserving hundred as he was dismissed for a 92-ball-98 as the match yielded no resulted due to the rain that followed.

The fifth game was abandoned, and the sixth game saw him reach the three-figure mark finally as he went on to score 156 off 114 balls, including 13 fours and 6 sixes, however, India won to level the series once again.

The seventh and the crucial final game of the series was where he faltered for the first time, running himself out after scoring just four runs, as India won the game and the series.

Bailey ended the series with figures of 478 runs from 6 matches at an average of 95.60 and a strike rate of 116.01, including 42 fours and 15 sixes. Only Rohit Sharma (covered in the next slide) would feature above him in the list of run-getters in the same series.

#3. Rohit Sharma (6 matches, 491 runs, avg 122.75, sr 108.62)

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The other batsman to feature from the 2013 India-Australia series, Rohit Sharma, finished a notch higher than George Bailey, scoring 13 runs more than him. The highlight of his entire series was the first ever ODI double-century for the batsman, which he scored in the last game of the series, and without which he would have scored just 282 runs in the series (which is not too bad, by the way).

Rohit Sharma started off with a 47-ball-42, as India lost the first game. He came back to score a memorable 123-ball-141 including 17 fours and 4 sixes as he led the team to the shores of victory in the second game, leveling the series and becoming the best player of the game. He did not do much in the third game, scoring just 11 off 22 as Australia went ahead again.

In the fourth game, rain came beckoning as he was batting at 9 off 13, and the batch had to be abandoned. The fifth game was abandoned without a ball bowled, and in the sixth game, he came back, scoring 79 off 89 balls as Virat Kohli and Dhawan scored tons to take the tally to 2 - 2.

The seventh and final game proved to be an extraordinary affair as India came out to bat first and Rohit scored his first ever 200. Double hundreds were a novelty back then for the world and for Rohit himself, as this was only the third such instance so far after Sachin in 2010 and Sehwag in 2011. Rohit's 209 included 12 fours and 16 huge sixes, a record at that time. India's 383 runs were eventually defended, and thus they won the series 3 - 2. Nobody else contested for the man-of-the-match title, as he won it for the second time in the series.

Rohit's tally at the end read 491 runs from 6 games, averaging 122.75 and at a strike rate of 108.62. He smashed 45 fours and 23 sixes and was also selected man-of-the-tournament.

#2. Fakhar Zaman (5 matches, 515 runs, avg 257.20, sr 111.47)

The latest entrant in the list, Fakhar Zaman, has been a revelation for Pakistan cricket in recent times. The young lad has been achieving some impressive results, the earliest of which would date back to 2017 June when he played a singular knock that helped Pakistan clinch the ICC Champions Trophy routing favourites India.

Fakhar has risen to prominence once again as he recently became the fastest batsman to cross the 1000-run mark in ODIs in his 19th innings. He did so while also becoming the second-top run-getter in a bilateral series as Pakistan steamrolled Zimbabwe 5 - 0 in the series that concluded just a day ago.

In the first game, Fakhar scored a 70-ball-60 and continued with a 129-ball-117 as Pakistan won both games, with him becoming man-of-the-match in the second game as well. In the third game, Pakistan had a target of just 68, which they reached with nine wickets to spare, bolstered by Fakhar's 43 off 24. The fourth ODI would bring out the best in him as a batsman as he smashed his way to a double hundred, eventually ending up with 210 not out in just 156 balls, including 24 fours and 5 sixes.

This became the 8th double hundred overall and the first ever by a Pakistani player. It would also be the first overseas double hundred scored in a bilateral series. There was no other contestant for the man-of-the-match title once again. In the fifth game he scored 85 off 83 and while his score was on 20, he became the fastest player to reach 1000 career runs in ODIs.

Pakistan won all matches and Fakhar was rightly adjudged man-of-the-series. His eventual numbers read 515 from 5 games at an average 257.20 and a strike rate of 111.47.

#1. Virat Kohli (6 matches, 558 runs, avg 186.00, sr 99.46)

Able captain

Virat Kohli's presence in this list is by no means a surprise. Arguably the greatest batsman of the modern era, Virat Kohli has also been holding the no.1 ranking in batting for quite some time now. He is also the batsman with the most hundreds among active batsmen and the all-time fastest to 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 ODI runs. He is also just around 300 runs short of the 10000-run mark as of right now and has been scoring 1000 calendar runs for the past nine consecutive years.

Kohli's entry in the list is the second latest since Fakhar Zaman and is the all-time record of run-scoring in a bilateral event. It was created during India's recent tour of South Africa in 2018. In the six ODIs, Kohli registered knocks of 112(119), 46*(50), 160*(159), 75(83), 36(54) and 129*(96). He also became man-of-the-match in the first, third, and sixth games as India won all but the fourth game to clinch the series 5 - 1.

558 runs were scored by Kohli in the six innings he played, including 55 fours and 8 sixes. He averaged 186 runs at a strike rate of nearly hundred as the captain led by example to seal the series. He was also fittingly adjudged the man-of-the-tournament.