Most successful No. 3 batsmen for India in ODIs

Batting at the number 3 slot in any match is a big gamble in itself. You could end up facing the second ball of the innings or wait for almost 25 overs more to face your first delivery. Along with the batsman that immediately follows them at No.4, they have the utmost responsibility of providing stability to the team and keeping the scoreboard ticking at the same time. The position that has been holy grail of all time greats like Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Jacques Kallis is now the permanent batting slot for modern greats like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith.

India, over the years, has produced some of the best batsmen who have batted at number 3 in One Day Internationals. With Virat Kohli continuing that lineage, we take a look at India's most successful batsmen at the number 3 slot.

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#6 Gautam Gambhir

His batting at number 3 was vital in India's 2011 World Cup campaignOne-half of India's most formidable opening pair in Test matches along with Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir has had a memorable stint at the top of the batting order in all formats of the game. However, the presence of limited over legends in Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag at the top of the order meant that Gambhir had to bat one down for a significant part of his limited overs career.

In 48 of his 143 ODI innings, the Delhi opener came in to bat at the loss of the first wicket and scored a total of 1810 runs at an average of 42.09. Gambhir's batting at number 3 was the brightest spot in India's 2011 World Cup victorious squad, where he played arguably the best innings of his ODI career - 97 in the World Cup finals against Sri Lanka. Although he has been out of the Indian team for quite some time now, Gambhir was a reliable batsman during his prime.

#5 Navjot Singh Sidhu

He was nicknamed 'Sixer Sidhu' for his powerful battingNow famous all over the world as a television celebrity, Navjot Singh Sidhu was once the epitome of aggressive batting that is now the staple of Indian batting order. Opening the batting during the first half of his 15-year long career, Sidhu made a successful and smooth transition to the number 3 slot after Tendulkar's promotion to the top. Sidhu batted at one down in 54 ODI innings, scoring 1848 runs at an average of almost 38.

His average rises significantly when we look at his stats as an opener. However a career average of 37.08, which is on par with his average at number 3, is enough evidence that he was equally handy in that slot. Once India's most destructive ODI batsman, Sidhu is now enjoying a happy life as a Minister in the Punjab Government.

#4 VVS Laxman

His exploits against The mighty Australians are well documentedVVS Laxman was permanent fixture in the Indian team in the longest format for majority of his 15-year career. Considered a Test specialist, he failed to make the same impact while playing in the coloured clothes, which restricted his ODI career to a mere 86 matches. However, in the limited opportunities given, he somehow managed to provide some memorable moments.

The wristy batsman played most of his ODI matches batting at number 3 position and scored 1966 out of his 2338 runs in that position, at a healthy average of over 35. What's even more interesting is that all of his six ODI hundreds were scored at the number 3 slot, four of which came against the mighty Australians. His innings of an unbeaten 103 at Gabba is still considered one of the best hundreds by an Indian in Australia.

#3 Mohammad Azharuddin

He made in impact from every position he batted inIf VVS Laxman was considered an excellent wristy player, this man made a name for himself with his wristy strokeplay and is often regarded as the best player of the wrist in the world. India's most successful batsman at number 4 slot, Azhar was equally good at one down as well.

He came out to bat 65 times at the loss of the first wicket in his ODI career, scoring 2036 runs at an average of 36.36, quite similar to his career average of 36.92. Two of his seven ODI hundreds came while batting at the number 3 slot. He played at number 4 or 5 for a major part of his ODI career, but he delivered in the best possible way whenever he came out to bat at one down.

#2 Rahul Dravid

India's reliable number 3 for many yearsRahul Dravid was always there for the Indian team. When the team needed an extra batsman, he accepted the responsibility of keeping the wickets. When the team was short of an opening batsman, he opened the batting for the team. What's even more impressive is that he delivered big time every time. The one down batting slot was Dravid's favourite position to bat in any format of cricket.

In the shorter format, he batted at number 3 109 times, scoring exactly 4000 runs at a good average of 38.83. His highest score of 153, which was scored against New Zealand during that record 331-run partenrship with Sachin Tendulkar, was also scored from this position, so were 6 of his remaining 11 ODI hundreds. 'The Wall', as he is fondly called, was India's go-to man in both formats for a major part of his career.

#1 Virat Kohli

At present, the best in the worldWas there any doubt in this? The incumbent Indian skipper's overall ODI record is enough to profess his stance as the greatest batsman of this generation. Kohli has been India's permanent number 3 in limited overs (barring any injury or hiatus) for the past 8 years. Having played 144 innings at this position, which is more than any other Indian batsman, Kohli has scored 7095 runs at a massive average of 59.13 and a stunning strike rate of 92.84, both of which are more than his overall career statistics.

26 out of his 33 ODI centuries came while batting at one down slot, which includes his memorable hundreds against Pakistan (183), Sri Lanka (133) and Australia (117). Ricky Ponting is currently the most successful ODI batsman at this position and if Kohli continues to bat in the same way that he has been doing, it won't be long before Kohli overtakes Ponting to take the top spot in the list.