When you sift through the Cricket World Cup history books, it will come as no surprise to learn that Sachin Tendulkar is the proud owner of many of the competition’s most prestigious batting records. However, the little maestro’s position as the undisputed CWC great is under threat from two of his countrymen, who are both having outstanding tournaments of their own in 2023: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
So could either of the duo overtake Sachin as the best batsman in World Cup history?
When the Going is Good
India has swept all before them in the 2023 edition of the World Cup because all departments of their game are in fine order: batting, fielding and both pace and spin bowling.
Rohit’s men are the 5/6 favourites in the World Cup cricket odds to lift the trophy in Ahmedabad, with Australia (16/5), South Africa (4/1) and New Zealand (6/1) considered little more than dangerous underdogs.
The confidence of the bookmakers is due in part to the long and varied batting line-up that India has at their disposal – not least the fact, that throughout the tournament, at least one of (if not both) Rohit and Virat have thrived in every game.
In each of India’s opening eight group games, one or both of Sharma or Kohli scored a minimum of a half-century in each innings – explaining why both have surpassed the 400-run mark with still one league phase outing to come, as well as the semi-final and possibly the final too.
India chase down the Bangladesh total with 51 balls to spare for their fourth successive #CWC23 win ⚡#INDvBAN 📝: https://t.co/v3xome9pao pic.twitter.com/m1YC2onskd
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) October 19, 2023
The record for the most runs scored in a single edition of the World Cup is 673, which was set by – you guessed it – Sachin back in 2003. With a minimum of two games to go, Virat finds himself on 543; meaning that one more stout innings will all but certainly see him pass the great man’s mark. Rohit himself, on 442 runs and counting, also won’t discount himself from usurping Sachin’s record either…
The G.O.A.T.
Anyone who has watched cricket over the past two or three decades will no doubt agree that Sachin is one of the most gifted players to ever pick up a bat. His records in the World Cup do speak volumes, both of his ability and his versatility, scoring runs on different continents and in wildly varying conditions. One of Sachin’s proudest recollections of his time in cricket must be that, at the time, he had scored more runs in the history of the World Cup than any other player. And not just a little bit more: we’re talking 535 more than the nearest challenger, Ricky Ponting.
Most ODI Hundreds
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) November 5, 2023
49 VIRAT KOHLI, Sachin Tendulkar
March, 2012
Salman Khan: Can anyone break your record?
Tendulkar: I think those who can, are sitting in this room only. Virat and Rohit are the ones.
pic.twitter.com/s6e7lnDlHD
And yet along came Virat in 2023 to haul in that record, with the new mark possibly extended if he commits to the 2027 tournament in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The challenge? By that time, Kohli will be 39, which is particularly old for a top-order batsman in elite cricket.
Sachin, ironically, retired from ODI cricket at the age of 39, so it’s not wholly impossible that Virat could take to the field at the next World Cup. If he does, he will be hoping to cement himself as the greatest ODI batsman – statistically speaking – in India’s history.
Disclaimer:- Cricket Series or Tournamnets and Match Date, Time and Venue of all cricket teams data has been completed from various sources and by our own research. These data can be approximate and Indiacricketschedule.com makes no claims about the authenticity of the Cricket Series or Tournamnets and Match Date, Time and Venue data. This may change due to many reasons.
0 Comments