Top 5 Indian batters with most runs while opening the batting in ODIs ft. Rohit Sharma

Team India opener Rohit Sharma scored a much-needed half-century at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23 in the second ODI of the three-match series against Australia. After being dismissed for eight off 14 balls in the first one-dayer in Perth, the Hitman scored a patient 73 off 97 balls in Adelaide.

Sent into bat after losing yet another toss on Thursday, India lost skipper Shubman Gill for nine and Virat Kohli for his second consecutive duck. Rohit and Shreyas Iyer (61 off 77) then lifted the Men in Blue, adding 118 for the third wicket. Rohit got off to a slow start, but gradually picked up his scoring rate as he ended up smashing seven fours and two sixes.

During the course of his innings on Thursday, Rohit surpassed Sourav Ganguly to move to second position on the list of Indian batters with most runs as openers in ODIs. On that note, let's take a look at top five Indian batters with most runs while opening the innings in one-dayers.

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#5 Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit's former opening partner Shikhar Dhawan is fifth on the list of Indian batters with most runs as opener in ODIs. In 166 matches, he scored 6,793 runs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 91.35. The southpaw struck 17 hundreds and 39 half-centuries.

Dhawan's best of 143 came off 115 balls against Australia in Mohali in March 2019. The knock featured 18 fours and three sixes. He also scored 137 off 146 against South Africa in Melbourne in the 2015 World Cup, a sublime knock which 16 fours and two sixes.

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#4 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag features fourth on the list of Indian batters with most runs as opener in the ODI format. In 204 matches, the swashbuckling batter scored 7,240 runs at an average of 36.93 and a strike rate of 104.85. Sehwag hit 14 hundreds and 34 half-centuries while opening the batting for Team India.

Sehwag's best of 219 came off 149 balls against West Indies in Indore in December 2011. The brilliant knock included 25 fours and seven sixes. He also smacked 175 off 140 balls against Bangladesh in Mirpur in the 2011 World Cup, hitting 14 fours and five sixes.

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#3 Sourav Ganguly

Former captain Ganguly has moved down to third position on the list of Indian batters with most runs as opener in ODIs. In 242 matches, he scored 9,146 runs at an average of 41.57 and a strike rate of 73.59. Ganguly struck 19 hundreds and 58 half-centuries while opening the innings for Team India in one-dayers.

The left-handed batter's best of 183 came off 158 balls against Sri Lanka in Taunton in the 199 World Cup. The blazing knock included 17 fours and seven sixes. He also hit 153* off 150 balls against New Zealand in Gwalior in November 1999. This knock featured 18 fours and three sixes.

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#2 Rohit Sharma

During the course of his resilient knock against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday, Rohit surpassed Ganguly and moved up to second place on list of Indian openers with most runs in ODIs. In 188 matches, he has notched up 9,219 runs at an average of 54.55 and a strike rate of 96.08. The Hitman has struck 30 hundreds and 46 half-centuries while opening the innings.

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	SR	HS	100s	50s
Sachin Tendulkar	344	15,310	48.29	88.04	200*	45	75
Rohit Sharma	188	9,219	54.55	96.08	264	30	46
Sourav Ganguly	242	9,146	41.57	73.59	183	19	58
Virender Sehwag	204	7,240	36.93	104.85	219	14	34
Shikhar Dhawan	166	6,793	44.11	91.35	143	17	39

(Top 5 list of Indian batters with most runs as opener in ODIs)

Rohit's best of 264 (a world record score) came off 173 balls against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in November 2014. He hit 33 fours and nine sixes in his knock. The former captain also scored 209 off 158 balls against Australia in Bengaluru (November 2013) and 208* off 153 balls against Sri Lanka in Mohali (December 2017).

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#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Not surprisingly, Sachin Tendulkar tops the list of Indian batters with most runs while opening the batting in ODIs. In 344 one-day matches, he amassed 15,310 runs at an average of 48.29 and a strike rate of 88.04. Tendulkar struck 45 hundreds and 75 half-centuries as one-day opener.

The Master Blaster's best of 200* came off 147 balls against South Africa in Gwalior in February 2010. The superb knock included 25 fours and three sixes. He also smashed 186* off 150 balls against New Zealand in Hyderabad in November 1999, a knock which featured 20 fours and three sixes.