Being in good shape with the bat is a blessing, but being in such terrifying shape that you destroy an opponent and torment them for the whole of a game, having such significant effects on the series outcome, is something else. To their credit, very few batsmen have succeeded in doing that thus far since it is practically difficult.
Let’s examine the top four batsmen in terms of runs scored in a single bilateral ODI series. Two entries from 2018—one of them extremely recent—and two Indians are included on the list. Starting with the least desirable items and moving up the list in increasing order, we shall present them.
- Hamilton Masakadza (5 games, 467 runs)
Conditions are never too easy when you have to play five one-day international matches in a span of six matches; this entails playing 500 overs of cricket. Between October 12 and October 18, 2009, Zimbabwe played Kenya in a five-match ODI series. Hamilton Masakadza did not appear to have any issues of the type. Zimbabwe defeated their opponents 4 to 1 to claim victory in the end.
Masakadza hit 156 off 151 balls as Zimbabwe scored 313/4 in 50 overs in the first game. He might have continued to score more points but for a later run-out. 11 fours and 6 sixes were part of the outstanding innings, which helped Zimbabwe win by 91 runs. Masakadza was also named the game’s MVP.
He helped himself to a 91-ball-66 in the second game, which Zimbabwe won by 86 runs. He was given the task of chasing in the third ODI and finished with a 42-ball-44. Later, Zimbabwe fell short by 20 runs as Kenya claimed the series’ lone victory. Masakadza only scored 23 points off of 29 balls in the fourth game, but Zimbabwe still beat Kenya to the objective this time.
- George Bailey (6 matches, 478 runs)
The largest run fest in 2013 possibly occurred during the India and Australia bilateral series. Several batting records were set and broken in a series that was the stuff of bowlers’ nightmares for either team. Nine of the eleven complete innings had 300 or more runs, five of them were 350 or more runs. We also watched the recordings of a few blazing knocks and some lightning-quick chases. George Bailey scored 85 points off of 82 in Australia’s first victory in the series, earning him man of the match honours. A 50-ball-92 not out came after that, but it couldn’t help his team win again.
He amassed a 60-ball-43 in the third One Day International, which ultimately contributed to Australia winning the match. He missed out on a well-deserved hundred in the fourth game when he was dismissed for 92 balls and 98 runs. The match ended in a draw as a result of the subsequent rain. The sixth game saw him finally hit the three-figure mark as he went on to score 156 off 114 balls, including 13 fours and 6 sixes, but India prevailed to once again tie the series. The fifth game was abandoned.
- Rohit Sharma (6 matches, 491 runs)
George Bailey was outperformed by Rohit Sharma, the other batter from the 2013 India-Australia series, who finished with 13 more runs than him. The batsman’s first-ever ODI double-century, which he hit in the final game of the series and without which he would have only scored 282 runs throughout the series, was the series’ high point (which is not too bad, by the way).
Read More
With a 47-ball-42 opening inning, Rohit Sharma led India to a defeat in the first game. In the second game, he led the team to victory, tying the series, and emerged as the game’s top player with a spectacular 123-ball-141 that included 17 fours and 4 sixes. In the next game, he did not contribute much, scoring just 11 out of 22 as Australia regained the lead.
He was batting at 9 off 13 in the fourth game when rain began to fall, forcing the batch to be called off. He returned in the sixth game, scoring 79 off 89 balls while Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan produced massive scores to bring the score to 2 – 2. The fifth game was called off without a ball being bowled.
- Fakhar Zaman (5 matches, 515 runs)
Fakhar Zaman, the most recent addition to the list, has recently been a revelation for Pakistan cricket. The youngest of these accomplishments dates back to June 2017, when he played a single knock that assisted Pakistan in defeating India’s favorites to win the ICC Champions Trophy.
Fakhar has gained notoriety after breaking the record for the quickest batter to reach 1000 runs in ODIs in his 19th innings. In doing so, he also passed Zimbabwe’s run total in Pakistan’s recent 5–0 rout of Zimbabwe, becoming him the second-highest run scorer in a bilateral series.
“Get more sports news, cricket news, and football updates, log on to sportsdigest.in. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.”
