It won’t be unfair to admit that the limited-overs format in cricket is heavily in favor of the batsmen. Openers who are tested severely in Tests love to bat up the order in limited-overs cricket. It gives them the best chance to post huge scores. There have been many cricketers who have consistently posted big scores in ODI cricket. ODI greats have all pumped up a series of centuries when in good form.
We look at 5 batsmen who scored the most ODI hundreds in a single year:
#5 Virat Kohli – 6 (2017, 2018)
He is the finest ODI batsman of the generation. Virat Kohli when he made his debut looked tailor-made for ODI cricket. Kohli’s coming-of-age ODI century though came in 2012 when he smashed 86 balls-133 at Hobart. He has since then batted on almost a zen-like level.
Kohli’s best ODI batting phase came in 2017 and 2018. He smashed 6 ODI centuries each in both these years. Kohli amassed 1460 runs in 2017 and 1202 runs in 2018 at averages of 76.84 and 133.55 respectively!
#4 Sourav Ganguly – 7 (2000)
This was the year of Sourav Ganguly’s coronation as Indian captain. He hit the zenith of his ODI career in 2000. Ganguly had a fantastic ICC Knockout tournament in 2000 wherein he smashed 3 centuries. He finished with 7 ODI centuries in that year. Sourav Ganguly scored 1579 runs in 2000 at an average of 56.39.
#3 Rohit Sharma – 7 (2019)
He was undoubtedly the ODI batsman of the year in 2019. Rohit Sharma had a dream ODI World Cup in 2019. He became the first batsman to score 5 centuries in a single World Cup edition. Rohit Sharma finally emerged as India’s go-to batsman in ODIs that year. Sharma pummelled 7 ODI centuries in the calendar year. He scored 1490 runs in 2019 at an average of 57.30.
#2 David Warner – 7 (2016)
He is arguably the best ODI batsman Australia has had for a long time. He went on a rampage in 2016. David Warner smashed 7 ODI centuries in the calendar year of 2016. He hit those centuries in just 23 innings. Warner was hitting a century almost every third innings. He finished with 1388 runs at an average of 63.09.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar – 9 (1998)
No batsman in the history of the game dominated a calendar year as Sachin Tendulkar did in 1998. He didn’t spare anyone that year. Warne, McGrath, and Olongo all faced the wrath of Tendulkar. Chennai, Sharjah, you name the venue, and Sachin went berserk everywhere.
He scored a total of 9 ODI centuries in 1998. In 34 ODI games, Sachin pummelled 1894 runs at an average of 65.31. His strike rate of 102.15 was outstanding considering he had this golden year in 1998!
