Most Runs In ODIs In A Calendar Year

1. Gary Kirsten (1996)

1996 was a memorable year for the South African as he racked up 1442 runs in 29 matches, while also scoring his career’s highest 188* versus  the United Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi, in the World Cup. He averaged a huge 57.68 and scored at a strike rate of 83.64.

1. Gary Kirsten (2000)

The ninth player on this list is again Gary Kirsten, as he scored 1467 runs in the first year of the 21st century at an average 44.45. His highest score in the year was 115, and his strike rate was 73.20, but what made this particular year very special is the fact that in the 36 matches he played in the year, he was out for a duck just once and he scored an astonishing 13 half-centuries. Even more surprising is, he didn’t hit a single six in the whole year!

1. Mark Waugh (1999)

The younger of the legendary Waugh twins features at number 8 on this list. Mark scored 1468 runs in the year at a strike rate of 75.59, whilst averaging 44.48 in 36 matches played during the year.

1. Sourav Ganguly (2000)

The year 2000 was a memorable one for another classy left-handed opening batsman, this time him being the God of off-side, Sourav Ganguly. He scored a massive 1579 runs in 32 innings, at a strike rate of 82.75. His average of 56.39 during the year is quite impressive, with his highest score being 144. Amazingly, he didn’t register a single duck in the entire year and scored seven centuries, which shows how good his form was in the year!

1. Saeed Anwar (1996)

At sixth place, we again have a classy left-handed opening batsman, in the form of Pakistani Saeed Anwar. In the 36 matches he played in the year, he scored 1595 runs at a strike rate of 91.56, while averaging 51.45 runs.

1. Matthew Hayden (2007)

The lefties just don’t stop coming! This time we have the explosive Aussie  Matthew Hayden, who scored a whooping 1601 runs in 32 matches at a strike rate of 89.19. He averaged a huge 59.29 in the year, and scored five centuries, which included a career best 181*.

1. Sachin Tendulkar (1996)

In fourth place, we have the great Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 1611 runs in the World Cup year, while playing a total of 32 matches. He scored at an impressive strike rate of 82.44, while averaging 53.70 and scoring a highest score of 137. His career had just started to flourish and this year was an indication of the potential possessed by the Master Blaster and the way he would dominate cricket for years to come.

1. Rahul Dravid (1999)

Scoring the most runs in a year requires a great level of consistency and a name that is synonymous with consistency is of Rahul Dravid, who comes in at the third place. In 1999, he amassed a huge 1761 runs at an average of 46.34 with a strike rate of 75.16. He achieved his career’s highest score of 153 against New Zealand in Hyderabad, where he was also involved in a world-record 331 run stand with Sachin Tendulkar.

1. Sourav Ganguly (1999)

The Prince of Kolkata features in this list again at number two.  He scored a massive 1767 runs at an average of 46.50 and a strike rate of 76. In his 41 innings in the year, he scored 10 fifties and 4 centuries, one of which was an iconic 183 vs Sri Lanka at the 1999 World Cup, which was the fourth highest ODI score at the time and the second highest in a World Cup game.

1. Sachin Tendulkar (1998)

In a career spanning more than two decades, 1998 was the best year for the Little Master in One Day Internationals. He scored 1894 runs at an unbelievable average of 65.31 and an even more unbelievable strike rate of 102.15. He played 34 matches, and made 7 half-centuries and a record 9 centuries, with the highest score being 143 vs Australia, which is fondly remembered as the Desert Storm, where Sachin truly decimated Shane Warne and the entire Aussie bowling attack. Also, he smashed 40 sixes in the entire year, a record only bettered by Shane Watson in 2011.

Edited By : Akanksha Agarwal