India's 10 greatest ODI match-winners

I will start this with an apology. No matter how hard I tried, I can’t fit all the fan favourites in this list. Consider this a purely non-emotional piece, based on the hard stats I have turned and tortured in the last few days. I have had to cut my heart out leaving Rahul Dravid out of this list even though he is one of only three Indian batsmen to score 10000 ODI runs and is in my opinion, the finest sportsman India has ever produced.But, here are some of the factors, I have considered, to separate India’s finest match-winners from the rest. There are players like Ajit Agarkar who have been left out too. Agarkar is one of the unsung heroes in Indian cricket. Very few realise that he is the third most prolific ODI wicket taker for India with an impressive average of 27.85 and has a better win percentage than many of the stalwarts. Fastest to 50 wickets in ODI cricket, he also has 9 four-wicket hauls, the most by any Indian bowler with more than 50 wickets in wins. Yet, we could only pick 10 of the best and most of the players on this list waltz into it with authority based on:Their overall contribution to Indian cricketTheir contribution with bat or ball or both in winsThe number of wins they were part ofThe impact they created in winsTheir style of play and how they were unique with their gifts

#10 Zaheer Khan

One of the architects behind the 2011 World Cup win

	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy	4 wicket hauls
Overall	194	269	30.11	4.95	8
Wins	114	189	23.87	4.61	7

India’s second most prolific ODI wicket taker in wins, Zaheer Khan was India’s spearhead during the 2003 and 2011 World Cup campaigns. He was fast, accurate and could swing the ball both ways.

His impact on games is clearly seen from the fact that seven of his eight four-wicket hauls have come in wins where he averaged 23.87. Zaheer Khan, a rhythm bowler, saw a massive performance difference between wins and losses.

He has just 80 wickets in 80 matches outside wins, compared to 189 in 114 which is more than 1.5 per game. He could have been India’s greatest ODI bowler had injuries not kept him out of the game frequently.

#9 Javagal Srinath

With an average of 21.63 in victories, Srinath makes the cut

	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy	4 wicket hauls
Overall	229	315	28.08	4.44	10
Wins	107	176	21.63	4.08	5

India’s first genuine quick bowler, Srinath will figure in the list of most unsung heroes of Indian cricket. A large-hearted cricketer famous for being the other bowler when Kumble took 10 in an innings in a Test, Srinath’s average and strike-rate are both extremely impressive overall and in wins.

In the latter, his average of 21.63 is only next to Irfan Pathan amongst bowlers with more than 100 wickets in wins. Srinath and Agarkar are pretty close in stats, overall as well as in wins with just three wickets separating them in wins.

Nevertheless, Srinath was known for his control with a much better average and economy compared to Agarkar who could be expensive and wayward on some days, as reflected in his economy which was 0.5 higher than that of Srinath, a big gap across a career.

#8 Virat Kohli

Kohli’s record is mindboggling

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	161	6585	50.66	89.59	33/22
Wins	96	4837	68.12	93.57	19/20

Virat Kohli has played approximately half the games Ganguly, Dravid or Azharuddin have played. But, during that time he has been prolific, so prolific, he is already No.2 along with Ganguly on the all-time list of Indian centurions, 22. Incredibly, 19 of those 22 tons have come in wins.

He has more tons in wins than fifties (in games India won) which tells a lot about his conversion rate, especially under pressure, in big games. He has made chasing under lights a true art-form excelling at it with alarming efficiency. Kohli’s average jumps 18 points in wins and four points from an already impressive strike-rate batting at No.3.

Interestingly, Kohli who is eighth on the list of Indian batsmen with most runs in wins, is just a 1000 runs short of leapfrogging to third and 2000 short of Sourav Ganguly who is in the second position. Kohli has 4837 runs in 96 wins. He also has 21 not outs which is impressive for a batsman who walks in at No.3.

#7 Sourav Ganguly

18 of his 22 centuries have come in victories

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	308	11221	40.95	73.65	71/22
Wins	147	6818	54.98	77.76	40/18

Sourav Ganguly like Sachin Tendulkar did quite a bit with the ball winning matches too in the other discipline. However, he was a match-winner with his bat alone. One of India’s beloved captains, who brought about a marked shift in attitude and took the team to the 2003 World Cup Finals was an elegant stylish left-handed batsman who with Sachin Tendulkar, formed the greatest ODI opening pair in cricket that won India numerous matches at home and away.

Ganguly’s average in wins jumped a mighty 14 points and his strike-rate which is a tad low for an opener jumped a few notches up as well. Importantly, 18 of Sourav’s 22 100s came in victories and India won more than 40% of their games when Sourav scored a 50.

He is India’s most prolific ODI batsman as well after Sachin as well, overall as well as in wins, despite playing fewer games than some of the other accomplished players.

#6 Kapil Dev

Kapil was without a doubt India’s best all-rounder

Batting

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	225	3783	23.79	95.07	14/1
Wins	103	1653	28.5	101.16	1-Jul

Bowling

	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy	4 wicket hauls
Overall	225	253	27.45	3.71	4
Wins	103	129	23.9	3.48	3

India’s only genuine all-rounder for the ages, Kapil Dev, captain of India’s first World Cup winning team, which changed the destiny of Indian sport, could win a match with his bat or with the ball.

genuine swing bowler, supremely fit, Kapil Dev is that rare cricketer with more than 250 ODI wickets and 3000 ODI runs playing in an era when ODIs were not frequently played. The man with a measly economy of 3.48 in wins had a batting strike-rate of over 101 in wins, and 95 overall playing during an age when a strike-rate of 75 was considered exceptional.

It clearly showed, Kapil was way ahead of his times, but was part of the golden generation of all-rounders part of the quartet including Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee.

#5 Anil Kumble

Anil picked up 334 wicket

	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy	4 wicket hauls
Overall	269	334	30.83	4.29	10
Wins	127	198	23.56	3.96	8

India’s most prolific ODI and Test wicket-taker, Kumble also has the most ODI wickets for India in wins where he averages 1.5 wickets per game. His average drops seven points and his already measly economy comes down below 4.

Eight out of his 10 four-wicket hauls have come in wins for India which shows how amazing the tall leg-spinner was. Kumble unfortunately, featured in more losses than wins, largely because of the timing of his arrival and retirement. He has also played more games than any Indian full-fledged bowler had, Srinath coming in a distant second.

#4 Virender Sehwag

Viru was a gamechanger in the ODI format

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	241	7995	35.37	104.44	37/15
Wins	129	5605	46.07	109.7	27/14

One of three great finds of Sourav Ganguly along with Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag originally came into the team as a bowler who can bat, making his mark against Australia with a fifty and three wickets.

However, he soon became a devastating opener who ripped attacks apart and despite an obvious technical frailty became of one the game’s most feared, respected and prolific openers.

Sehwag is the only Indian with more than 1000 ODI runs and a strike-rate over 100. Around the world, only Shahid Afridi has a better strike-rate than him for batsmen with more than 2000 ODI runs.

Another magnificent piece of stat that settles his place amongst India’s greatest match-winners is that 14 out of his 15 centuries has come in an Indian win. The impact player has a jump of 11 points in average and five points in an already extraordinary strike-rate in wins.

Together with Sachin, Sehwag had formed one of the most potent and terrific opening batting pairs ever in ODI cricket. He was also handy with the ball like Yuvraj, Sachin and Ganguly. Adored by almost everyone, he played with a song on his lips, quite literally!

#3 Yuvraj Singh

He delivered with the ball as well

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	290	8237	36.28	86.98	51/13
Wins	164	5622	49.75	92.6	38/10

Man of the Series during India’s victorious 2011 World Cup campaign, Yuvraj Singh is as true-blue a match-winner as they come. He has one of the most impressive win ratios amongst all Indian cricketers showing how he affects the team positively.

One of the original new-gen fielders of India, taking many a stunning catch at point, Yuvraj Singh was destined to lead India until Dhoni happened and his own form started fluctuating. However, Yuvraj on song wins India big games and his contributions to the wins in 2007 and 2011 in the shorter formats, on the greatest platform is unbelievable.

Yuvraj’s average jumps 13 points in wins and his strike-rate goes up six points to the impressive 90s. More importantly, most of his fifty plus scores come in wins. Importantly, Yuvraj also contributes with the ball with 79 wickets in wins including three four-wicket hauls, all resulting in wins.

His couple of crucial wickets in the 2011 World Cup final will be remembered. With 8237 runs, Yuvraj is also sixth on the list of ODI run-getters for India jumping to fourth with 5622 runs if only wins are considered. He has managed that by batting at No.5 or No.6 right through his career, a phenomenal achievement in itself, with 34 not outs in wins.

#2 MS Dhoni

Dhoni is India’s greatest wicket-keeper batsman

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	262	8446	51.81	88.43	59/8
Wins	144	4949	72.77	97.57	35/5

Dhoni was India’s answer to Adam Gilchrist, except, he went one step ahead and also became India’s most successful captain ever. The man who holds the record for the highest score by a wicket-keeper batsman in an ODI, 183*, breaking Gilchrist’s 172 was a match-winner as a batsman alone, which is why he is India’s greatest ODI MVP, also performing spectacularly as wicket-keeper and skipper.

No one soaks up pressure like Dhoni does which shows in his remarkable jump in performances in India’s wins. To start with, Dhoni inherited an excellent team from his predecessors Ganguly and Dravid and he ensured the silver followed.

Winning close to 55% of the matches he played, Dhoni’s average jumped a phenomenal 21% in wins. His strike-rate also jumped a huge 9% in wins. Dhoni has 65 not outs overall and 52 in wins, both the most by an Indian batsman. He is on the verge of a world record not outs in wins too, showing his class as a world class finisher.

He managed all these stats playing in the lower middle order, of his own accord, for the greater part of his career, putting aside his swashbuckling form that made him so popular in India. His match-winning innings in the 2011 World Cup Final is probably the testimonial to everything he has been for India.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Was there ever a doubt?

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike-rate	50s/100s
Overall	463	18426	44.83	86.23	96/49
Wins	234	11157	56.63	90.31	59/33

Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest ODI player in the world, let alone India because of two reasons: The difference between him and the player with most runs, next to him (Ricky Ponting) is phenomenal. The sheer length of his career meant he always had volumes in his favour.

But, Sachin who played through India’s transition from an average team to world beaters still ended up being the single most important player of the Indian ODI side across a period of 15 years, his wicket in the 1996 World Cup just as important as his wicket in the 2011 World Cup that India won.

In terms of stats, Sachin managed to win more than 50% of his games which says a lot as India were an average side during the 90s who rarely won outside the subcontinent and were bad chasers. Sachin’s average increases 12 points and strike-rate four points between wins and defeats.

Interestingly, Sachin who made a 50+ score 31% of the times, won the match with a 50+ score 39% of the times. Through the 90s he was almost half of India’s batting psychologically, until Rahul Dravid and Ganguly eased it a little later.