Top 5 run-scorers in ODIs between 2011 and 2015 World Cups

A World Cup win can transform a nation. It can send a nation's cricket graph on an upward swing, that can last for generations to come.

The players sweat it out for four years and hope to make a lasting impression by performing at the world's third most-watched quadrennial event.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Team India ended the cricket-crazy country's World Cup drought, that lasted 28 years, in 2011.

The Men in Blue beat Sri Lanka in the tournament finale at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai and became the first host country to win ICC's marquee event on 2nd April 2011.

Subsequently, by beating co-hosts New Zealand in the final on 29th March 2015, Australia became the world champions for the fifth time, but only for the first time at home.

Now let's have a look at the top five batsmen, who dominated ODI cricket before the elusive trophy changed hands from MS Dhoni to Michael Clarke.

(Numbers don't include the matches played in the 2015 World Cup)

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#5 AB de Villiers

The former South Africa skipper is one batsman, who, on his day can easily rip apart the most potent bowling attack in the world.

With a mind-boggling strike rate of 107.82, AB de Villiers scored 2936 runs in the 60 ODIs he played between the 2011 and 2015 World Cup. He scored eight centuries and 17 half-centuries during that time period.

Although his career-best ODI score of 176 came in 2017 against Bangladesh, De Villiers's top score at that time was 149.

In a record-breaking 2015 ODI against the West Indies, De Villiers brought up the fastest ODI ton in just 31 balls. Scoring at a strike rate of 339, De Villiers came in to bat in the 39th over and scored 149 off just 44 deliveries, hitting nine boundaries and 16 maximums in the process.

#4 Mahela Jayawardene

Considered as one of the best players of spin bowling, Jayawardene was a cornerstone of Sri Lankan batting

The former Sri Lanka skipper is considered a modern great due to the effortlessness of his classy batting.

Considered as one of the best players of spin bowling, Jayawardene was a cornerstone of Sri Lankan batting and the second batsman from his country to score 10,000 ODI runs.

Although his ODI batting average was comparatively low than his contemporaries, between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, Jayawardene scored 3102 runs in 100 ODIs.

He scored four ODI tons and 21 fifties and maintained a strike rate of 83.11 during the period.

Jayawardene's highest score came in a 2011 ODI against England at Headingley, where he beautifully crafted 144 off 150 deliveries.

Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara added 159 runs for the third wicket, which is a record for Sri Lanka against England.

#3 Tillakaratne Dilshan

Dilshan scored 3945 off 104 matches between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups

Sri Lanka cricket may be in tatters right now but between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, batsmen from the island nation ruled the roost. Tillakaratne Dilshan, who started off as a lower-order batsman, achieved greatness only when he was promoted to open the innings for Sri Lanka.

Dilshan scored 3945 off 104 matches between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups and hit 10 centuries along the way. The batsman, who invented 'Dilscoop', brought up his highest ODI score of that period when he scored 160* in a 2012 ODI game against India in Hobart.

It was the second occasion when Dilshan had scored 160 against the same opposition and it proved to be jinxed as Sri Lanka ended up on the losing side in both the games.

#2 Virat Kohli

Kohli notched up the maximum 16 ODI tons during those four years

The time period between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups saw the current poster boy of Indian cricket - Virat Kohli - rise through the ranks. At a staggering strike rate of 94.39, Kohli scored 4278 runs in 96 matches.

Kohli's prowess with the willow was unmatched as he notched up the maximum 16 ODI tons during those four years. He was the master orchestrator as India pulled off their highest successful ODI chase to beat Pakistan in a 2012 Asia Cup encounter.

Chasing 330 to win, Kohli scored a career-best 183 not out off 148 deliveries and almost single-handedly kept his team alive in the tournament.

On the night of 18th March 2012 in Dhaka, the 23-year-old Delhi boy's herculean innings made him the mainstay of Indian batting order and inflicted a fatal wound on Pakistan's formidable bowling attack.

#5 Kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara maintained a strike rate of 83.40 and hit 10 centuries and 31 fifties during that time

With 4529 runs in 106 matches at an average of 48.69, Sri Lanka's former skipper was the leading run-scorer between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. Wisden's Leading Cricketer in 2011 and 2015, Sangakkara maintained a strike rate of 83.40 and hit 10 centuries and 31 fifties during that time.

The top-order batsman's highest ODI score came in a 2013 ODI game against South Africa at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The left-hander hit 169 off just 137 balls with 18 fours and six sixes.

On 29 January 2015, during an ODI against New Zealand in Wellington, Sangakkara became Sri Lanka's highest ever ODI run scorer, surpassing the previous record of 13,430 runs held by Sanath Jayasuriya.

The wicket-keeper batsman scored an unbeaten 113 off 105 balls to bring up his 21st century ODI ton.