Sportskeeda Cricket Awards 2014: ODI Batsmen of the Year

In a year that saw a double hundred in ODIs and a big one at that, Rohit Sharma’s 264, it is a sign of great competition that he doesn’t figure even in the top 5. However, most players in the top 5 are players who have had great years in both Tests and ODIs. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and their newly anointed skipper Angelo Matthews being two of them.In terms of ODI runs, it has largely been Sri Lanka and South Africa’s year, though a few other batsmen have sneaked in. We take a look at the top batsmen in ODIs this year, who have compiled tons of runs, especially against tougher oppositions. Joe Root with 872 runs, Shikhar Dhawan with 815, Tillakaratne Dilshan with 990 runs, Mahela Jayawardene with 846 runs and Faf du Plessis with 790 runs miss out narrowly from the list.

#5 Hashim Amla

Leave alone captaining the side, it was tough to even imagine Hashim Amla playing regularly for South Africa in ODIs. Yet, this year, he has notched up 892 runs at 52.47 in just 18 innings at the top of the order.

His strike-rate is still relatively slower at 80.57, but the quality of his batting is obvious from the fact that from the 7 times he has gone beyond a 50, he went on to score a century 5 times, including tough ones away against Australia and Sri Lanka. Even on the overall charts for runs scored, he is No.5, in spite of playing just 18 games, combining well with AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, who have had prolific years too.

#4 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, to some, is probably the only ODI player, who can go close to the records of his countryman, the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar. He has shown why, in yet another prolific year, where in spite of a lackluster series in England, he manages 1054 runs at 58.55 and a strike-rate almost touching 100.

His 4 centuries and 5 half-centuries have come against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh, although he would have dearly liked to have racked one against England. Kohli ended his year on a strong note at home and could be one of the players to watch out for in the upcoming World Cup down under.

#3 AB de Villiers

Had South Africa played more ODIs this year, AB de Villiers would have certainly broken a few records. His 879 runs this year in just 16 innings have come at an average of 73.25 and an astonishing strike rate of 114.45. He is the only batsman in the top 10 run-scores with a strike-rate over 100. Kohli comes a distant second with 99.6.

2 centuries and 6 half-centuries, all classy, stroke-filled runs, make probably the world’s best batsman right now, No.3 on our list. A lot of AB’s runs this year have come against Australia.

#2 Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara, in the tail-end of his career, has just one achievement eluding him – an ODI World Cup. One of the game’s greatest batsmen (and we are not even talking about his wicket-keeping), Sangakkara has topped the batting charts this year in both Tests and ODIs, unleashing torment on England in their last ODI series of the year with 4 half-centuries, a century and a 33.

He has scored runs both at home and away, against India, South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan, accumulating 1256 runs at 46.5 and a strike-rate of 87.7, the century at Lord’s being the highlight of his year.

#1 Angelo Mathews

Angelo Matthews is our best batsman in ODIs this year, in spite of garnering 12 runs less than Sangakkara. Sangakkara has 4 and 8 centuries and half-centuries respectively, against Matthews’s 1 and 9 100s and 50s. Still, a ton of Sangakkara’s runs have come against one opposition – England, whereas Matthews has been piling them up all throughout the year, against every opposition he has played.

More importantly, the Sri Lankan captain’s runs have mostly come from No.5 and No.6, a tougher spot to score more runs from. With an average of 62.2 and a strike-rate of 89.4, he has showed that captaincy need not be an impediment to a batsman of genuine class, which he undoubtedly possesses.