Top Five Leading run scorers in Cricket World Cup History

The ICC Cricket World Cup is known to have produced some of the most memorable moments in ODI cricket such as Herschelle Gibbs' six sixes against the Netherlands in 2007, Kevin O'Brien's jaw-dropping century against England amongst others.

With the sport rapidly inclining to favor the batsmen, the bowlers have had a tough time in the recent past and with the short boundaries coming into play, scores in excess of 300 have become the norm.

With yet another World Cup only a couple of days away, the flat tracks in England and Wales will be in focus that could give the batsmen a license to go hard and score a whole lot of runs, underlining the need for the bowlers to be at their best to make a mark in this edition.

Over the past, many batsmen have flourished in the competition of the World Cup and in this slider, we have a look at the top five highest run-getters in the history of the World Cup.

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#5 AB de Villiers - 1207 runs from 23 matches

AB de Villiers is South Africa's highest run-getter in World Cup history

The South African stalwart has been one of the best batsmen in the history of the sport, with his ability to strike the ball to all parts of the ground his biggest USP. In an ODI career spanning thirteen years, de Villiers amassed 9577 runs from 228 matches.

On the World Cup front, de Villiers is South Africa's highest run-getter with 1207 runs from 23 matches at a commendable average of 63.52 and a strike rate of 117.29, highlighting his domination in the world's biggest stage.

de Villiers' best showing in his three World Cup appearances came in the 2015 edition, when he scored a total of 482 runs from just eight matches at an average of 96.40 and a strike rate of 144.31. Apart from that, he notched up 372 runs from 10 matches (2007 WC) and 353 runs from 5 matches (2011 WC).

#4 Brian Lara - 1225 runs from 34 matches

Brian Lara celebrates his century during the 2007 World Cup

The West Indies southpaw was one of the most stylish players of his time and made his World Cup debut in 1992 and made an immediate impact with 333 runs from eight matches at an average of 47.57.

Lara was in scintillating touch in the succeeding edition as he notched up a total of 269 runs from only six matches and finished the tournament as West Indies' highest run-getter at an average of 53.80.

Having missed out during the 1999 World Cup, Brian Lara was back in his element in the 2003 edition as he amassed a total of 248 runs from six matches and averaged 41.33, one of the bright sparks in West Indies' campaign.

In what was Lara's final World Cup appearance during the 2007 edition, the left-hander did not have the best of campaigns as he scored 269 runs from nine matches and averaged 38.42, a slight drop by his lofty standards.

From 34 matches, Lara notched up a total of 1225 runs at an average of 42.24 and is currently West Indies' highest run-scorer in World Cup history.

#3 Kumar Sangakkara - 1532 runs from 37 matches

Sangakkara had a great run in the 2011 World Cup

One of the most technically gifted left-handed batsmen in world cricket, Kumar Sangakkara heads the list of most runs scored for Sri Lanka in World Cup history with 1532 runs at an average of 56.74, proving his value to the island nation.

Having made his ODI debut against Pakistan at home in 2000, Sangakkara played his first World Cup match in 2003 against New Zealand but had a poor outing right through the tournament, scoring just 176 runs from ten matches.

In the 2007 World Cup edition, Sangakkara came into the side with some quality experience and performed reasonably well, notching up 350 runs from 11 matches at an average of 35.00, finishing the tournament as the side's third-highest run scorer.

Yet, Sangakkara was in some ominous form during the 2011 World Cup where he scored three half-centuries and one century to finish with a total of 465 runs from nine matches at an excellent average of 93.00, helping Srilanka finish as runners-up in that edition.

Post the 2011 World Cup, Sangakkara had a good couple of years and converted his top run of form into the 2015 World Cup where he amassed 541 runs from just seven matches and at an average of 108.20, was one of the best batsmen from the tournament.

#2 Ricky Ponting - 1743 runs from 46 matches

Ricky Ponting essays a sweep shot

Ricky Ponting's World Cup debut came during the 1996 World Cup when he made quite an impression with 229 runs from seven matches at an average of 32.71. In the 1999 World Cup, Ponting's fluency marked with some consistency saw him score 354 runs from 10 matches at an average of 39.33 as his contribution saw Australian clinch the title.

The 2003 edition of the World Cup brought out Ponting's best as captaincy duties seemed to have a positive impact on the right-hander that saw him notch up 415 runs from 11 matches apart from leading Australia to a consecutive title.

The Australian skipper's form was given a massive uplift in the 2007 edition as he had his best run from the past three editions, 539 runs from 11 matches at an average of 67.37 that helped the Australians to register a hat-trick of titles.

However, Ponting's form took a dip in the 2011 edition as he scored just 206 runs from seven matches as Australia failed to make it to the finals of the tournament.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 2278 runs from 45 matches

Sachin Tendulkar in action during the 2011 World Cup

Arguably one of India's best batsmen of all time, Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer in World Cup history. With 2278 runs from 45 matches at an average of 56.95, Tendulkar has a total of six hundreds and fifteen half-centuries across six editions of the World Cup.

Tendulkar played his first World Cup at the age of 18 and scored 283 runs from eight matches at an average of 47.16 and stamped his authority in the 1996 edition of the World Cup when he amassed a total of 523 runs from seven matches, averaging 87.16 as he finished as the edition's highest run-getter.

In the 1999 edition, Tendulkar finished with a total of 253 runs from seven matches at an average of 42.16 and bettered his form in the 2003 edition of the World Cup held in Johannesburg as he made 673 runs from 11 matches at an average of 61.18.

During India's disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign, Tendulkar scored just 64 runs from three games, including an unbeaten 57 against Bermuda. However, in India's World Cup winning campaign in 2011, Tendulkar was the highest run-scorer for India with 482 runs from 9 matches at an average of 53.55.