5 records held by Indian batsmen in ODIs that might never be broken

For the past three decades, India has produced some of the greatest batsmen in ODI cricket. The first batting superstar produced by India in ODI cricket was Sachin Tendulkar. Considered by many to be the greatest batsman to have ever played the game, Tendulkar took ODI cricket to statistically high peaks never seen before in the history of the game. The little master dominated ODI cricket for almost a quarter of a century, shattering records at will.

The age of Tendulkar also saw several other great batting heroes like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

With the retirement of Tendulkar, Virat Kohli has carried the legacy forward. The batting dynamite has been plundering runs at will against every opposition in all conditions.

In fact, the list of the Top 15 highest run-getters in the history of ODI cricket has as many as 5 Indian batsmen.

These batting powerhouses have taken ODI cricket to great heights.

In this article, let us look at the five major batting records held by Indian batsmen in ODI cricket that will never be broken.

5. Most number of ODI matches - Held By Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar played a staggering 463 ODI matches for India

In an unprecedented ODI career spanning almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar played a staggering 463 ODI matches for India. The closest any player has come to challenge this record is Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene, who played 448 ODI’s for his country, but he retired in 2015.

Among active players, India’s MS Dhoni currently has the most appearances having played 332 matches for India. But, Dhoni now, is in the twilight of his illustrious career, and he has no chance of coming anywhere close to Tendulkar’s tally.

Also, it is highly unlikely for any player in the modern era to last for such a long period of time like Tendulkar did, in his unparalleled career.

#4 Most numbers of 200s in ODIs - Held by Rohit Sharma

There have been only 8 double hundreds in the 47-year history of ODI cricket, and Rohit Sharma has scored three of them

There have been only 8 double hundreds in the 47-year history of ODI cricket, and Rohit Sharma has scored three of them.

The “Hitman” scored his first double hundred in the year 2013 when he smashed 209 against Australia in Bangalore. He then scored his second double hundred- a mind-boggling 264 runs against Sri Lanka, scoring a record 33 fours in a single innings.

His third double ton came on the 13th of December 2017, when he plundered 208* off 153 balls against Sri Lanka.

There has been no batsman in the history of ODI cricket who has scored more than one double hundred, but Rohit has three!

It is extremely unlikely that any player would score more than 3 double hundreds in ODI cricket.

#3 Most runs scored in a single batting position - Held by Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score more than 15000 runs in a single batting position

Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer in the history of ODI cricket to score more than 15000 runs in a single batting position. The Little Master opened the batting for India 340 times and scored a whopping 15310 runs at an incredible average of 48.30.

The second highest in the list is Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored 12740 runs opening the batting 383 times for Sri Lanka.

To put this monumental achievement of Tendulkar in some perspective, the number of runs scored by Tendulkar as an opener is higher than the career aggregate of the second highest run scorer in the history of ODI cricket- Kumar Sangakkara - who scored 14234 ODI runs in his entire career

#2 Most number of fours in ODIs - Held by Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar leads the second-placed Sanath Jayasuriya by 516 fours

Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman in history to score more than 2000 fours in ODI cricket.

In a colossal 463 ODIs, the Master Blaster scored 2016 fours. To put this achievement in some perspective, Tendulkar leads the second-placed Sanath Jayasuriya by 516 fours.

Among active players, the most number of fours is scored by Virat Kohli - who has 962 fours. It is highly unlikely that Kohli would score another 1055 fours to overhaul Tendulkar.

#1 Most runs in ODIs - Held by Sachin Tendulkar

In a career spanning almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar scored a whopping 18426 runs in ODI’s.

In a career spanning almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar scored a whopping 18426 runs in ODI’s. He leads the second-placed Kumar Sangakkara by 4192 runs.

If ever anybody has a bleak chance to overhaul this record of Tendulkar, then it is Indian batting dynamite, Virat Kohli.

Kohli has scored 10232 runs in 216 ODIs, but he is already over 30 years of age. It would be a race against time even for a batsman like Kohli, for, he has to score more than 8000 runs in the remaining 7-8 years of his career.

And, as for non-Indian batsmen, there is nobody even in the near vicinity, to go past this record of Tendulkar.

Even if, by chance, Kohli does go past Tendulkar, the record for the most runs in ODIs will still be held by an Indian batsman!

So, there you have it. These are the 5 major records in ODI cricket held by Indian batsmen that I think will never be broken.