ODI cricket is
considered as the game of batsman. But it is not very easy to perform consistently
well at the highest level. To be a great ODI batsman you need to not only make
runs but you are to make them quickly as well. Here are the guys who have performed
consistently and are rated best in 2014.
10. Misbah
UL Haq (Pak)
He is the most under rated cricketer
in the cricketing arena during last year. He performed brilliantly throughout the year.
Amongst the doggy batting line of Pakistan he is the only one scoring consistent
runs. He scored most runs in the year 2013 leaving behind some of the greats of
the game. He averages more than 55 in the year and scored 15 fifties in the
year also. He is the only player in the top ten ICC ranking who has not got a hundred.
That shows his level of consistency with which he performs.
9. Shekhar
Dhawan (India)
At the start of the
year 2013 no one would have thought that Sehwag and Ghambir would be out placed
from the Indian side by Dhawan and Sharma. Dhawan made a remarkable come back
to the team scoring consecutive hundreds in the Champions Trophy. He helped
Indian to get rid of the label of not performing well out side India. He
performed brilliantly during the Champions Trophy and after that as well.
During the series against the Ausies he performed brilliantly and gave brilliant
start during the entire series. Helping India winning the series 3-2 and retaining
the No 1 spot in the ICC ODI ranking. He almost averages 50 during the year and
maintaining a brilliant strike rate as well. He scored 5 Tons last year in ODI's
8. Michel
Clark (AUS)
Not a single one us have
a doubt in his ability and did not disappoint us as well. During the last two
to three years he is performing consistently in both formats of the cricket. He
is smart accumulator of runs but never lets run rate to come down and also one
cannot argue on his captaincy as well. The amount of injuries which he is
careeing with him did not hinder his performance and whenever he comes back he
comes with a bang. He never looses his heart which makes hem stand tall amongst
the cricketers.
7. Rohit
Sharma (India)
He is a shear class and has lazy elegance.
He mesmerises you with his batting abilities. He was offered the job of opening
the innings and he lashed on to it big time. Since then he has not looked back
he got better and better as the journey progressed. Now he is only the third
man in the history of world cricket who has a double hundred. He also holds the
record for most sixes in an innings which is 16. His has found consistency now
and the class was always there. During the 2013 he scored more than 1100 runs
at an average of more than 60. He is undoubtedly the most talented batsman in
the Indian line up.
6. Kumar
Sangakara (SL)
He is the real “he man” of the Sri
Lankan cricket. He is the one who score heavily and consistently for them for so long now and continues in his
very way. He has scored all across the globe against all the teams in the
world. He has fulfilled every challenge thrown in front of him. As always he is
in very good form this year also. He is scoring heavily throughout the year. He
always stands tall against every opposition. If you want to see how to built an
innings you must watch him play. This year he scored runs at an average more
than 65. He is the most difficult batsman to get out in the world cricket when
he throws his anchors down. He is a great servant to Sri Lankan Cricket.
5. T
M Dilshan (SL)
First T20 world cup showed a new
Dilshan for the Lions and since then he has not looked back. His graph of
performance has risen considerably. This year he is un stoppable he is in the
form of his life. He is smashing all the bowling line ups apart by his shear
stroke play. No one has Come in his way this year. One thing is sure when
dilshan gets runs he gets them very quickly. He is one of very cricketers
having a shot named before him "The Dilscoop".
4. George
Belly (Aus)
After 1877 he is the only one who
has captained his side in his first international match. During his short career
he has proved himself worthy of that also. He is performing consistently at the
highest level. His captaincy is also good. His quickness of his foot work and
his ability to dominate the game is astonishing. His stroke play is brilliant.
Ausies normally score quickly but with the constancy with which Belly makes it,
makes him stand unified among them. He has a career average of more than 53
which is out standing. His ability to re-build the innings is also very good.
During Indian series he proved it many times. He not only scored heavily but at
an astonishing pace as well. He is ranked No 3 in ICC ODI ranking.
3. A
B Deviliars (SA)
He is the most difficult batsman to
bowl to in the world cricket in the current era. He has more than all the shots
in the book. He will reverse sweep a fast bowler. He is very nimble on his
feet. He is the best player of spin bowling when we think of white players. He
is a complete package. He can tear apart any bowling attack in the world at any
time. He will start moving in the crease from the first ball, but the thing is
that it does not hamper his concentration at any time. Recently he has achieved
a landmark as well. He became the third fastest to reach fastest 6000 ODI runs.
It looked like ages that he is in the first 3 rankings in both ODI and Test. Currently
he and Amla are the only batsmen having averages more then 50 in both the
formats.
2. Virat
Kohli (India)
If you ask any one say a line about
Kohli, one would say “ he is the one who has done justice to his talent”. From the
beginning of his career he has never looked back. When you look at his figures
we come to know that the boy has 18 hundreds in less than 125 games. He also
holds the record for fastest hundred by an Indian which he scored of just 52
balls. It is unbelievable. He comes across as a person who always wanted to bat
till the end. He will be angry with himself even when he gets out in the final
over of an innings or he had scored 150 runs. He values his wicket and that is
what which makes him very special. At this tender age such maturity is very
rarely seen.
1.
M S Dhoni (India)
He is the one who
made India the No 1 team in the world. He has achieved every thing possible for
a captain. His batting abilities are not less also. Cricket is game of stats
but what stats do not show you are when those runs were scored or wickets were
got. He always stands tall when his team needed him. He will never show his
back. He merely fails to score when his team needs him. He is a perfect
accumulator of runs and when it comes to power hitting believe me or not he
will smash even very good balls out of the park. He is the one who can hit a
good Yorker 100 meter from his bat. If you need 20 runs in an over and dhoni is
facing you would fancy India winning. This is not a debate. It happened twice
to Sri Lanka. Moreover he reads the game better than any one else playing in
this era.
