The upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup will witness a few records being rewritten. India will play host to the World Cup. The flat wickets will enable batters to go big in the World Cup. There is a distinct possibility of a team scoring in excess of 500 in this World Cup. There have been several ODI knocks that have opened new doors of possibilities. These knocks saw boundaries being scored at an unmatched frequency.
We look at 5 ODI knocks that contained the most runs in boundaries:
#5 Rohit Sharma – 144 (209)
It was 2013, the year when Rohit Sharma took to being a full-time ODI opener. He was in top form during the 7-match ODI series against Australia. The stage was set for the decider. Sharma went big in Bengaluru. He scored a run-a-ball century before going berserk later in his innings. Sharma brought up his maiden ODI double hundred scoring 209 off just 158 balls. He struck at 132.27 during the innings. 144 runs off his 209 came in boundaries. Sharma scored 68.89% of his runs in fours and sixes during his knock.
#4 Shane Watson – 150 (185)
He is the only batsman to feature on this list despite not scoring a double hundred. Shane Watson went into beast mode against Bangladesh during the 2011 ODI World Cup. It is also the only knock on this list that came up during the chase. Watson admitted that he got tired of running ones and twos and decided to deal only in boundaries. He scored 15 sixes and 15 fours during his knock of 185. 81.08% of his runs came through boundaries in this brutal knock.
#3 Ishan Kishan – 156 (210)
It was this knock that threw open the possibility of an attacking opener batting 50 overs. Ishan Kishan was dismissed for 210 well before the 37th over. There was a triple century there for the taking had he played the entire stretch of 50 overs. Kishan scored 156 runs in boundaries during his knock of 210 against Bangladesh. His knock comprised 24 fours and 10 sixes. 74.28% of his runs during this knock came through in boundaries.
#2 Martin Guptill – 162 (237)
It is another knock that came up in a World Cup. Martin Guptill put the West Indies attack to swords in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal. The smaller boundaries of Wellington played their part in Guptill’s calculated assault. He struck an unbeaten 237 off just 163 balls. It remains the only double-century ever scored in a World Cup knockout game. Guptill smashed 24 fours and 11 sixes during his epic knock. 68.35% of his runs came via boundaries in this innings.
#1 Rohit Sharma – 186 (264)
He broke all possible ODI records during his gargantuan effort of 264. Rohit Sharma lit up Eden Gardens with his dazzling stroke play. He smashed 33 boundaries and 9 sixes against a hapless Lankan attack. Sharma registered his second ODI double-hundred in the process. He went on to post the highest individual ODI score ever. Sharma also tops the chart for scoring the most runs (186) through boundaries in an ODI inning. 70.45% of his runs were accumulated through boundaries in that innings.
