Batsmen Fastest to Reach 1000 Runs in ODI
The game of cricket started with the red-ball. In the year 1972, the fans witnessed a new format called one-day cricket which was played with the white ball. It would get completed in a single day and both teams would play an inning each. Over the years, white-ball cricket has evolved a lot. It is fair to say that advent of T20 cricket has changed the outlook of the white-ball format of the game.
Gone are the days when the batsmen would nudge around for an initial period before unleashing themselves. Today, the batsmen would take on the bowlers right from the word go. In the last one decade, white-ball cricket has seen many stalwarts. A lot of cricketers started their ODI career on a wonderful note.
While a lot of them fizzled out after a great start, some went on to become legendary starts.
In this article, we look at five batsmen fastest to 1000 runs in ODI cricket:
#5 Jonathan Trott
England batsmen, Jonathan Trott showed a lot of promise during his early days in international cricket. He was well equipped to play both the formats of the game. Trott started his career on a wonderful note and soon became an integral cog in England’s national cricket team.
He produced a string of performances after debuting in ODI cricket. In just 21 inning, Jonathan Trott completed 1000 runs in ODI cricket. He is currently the fifth-fastest to 1000 runs in ODI cricket. Unfortunately, he retired from international cricket very early in his career due to personal reasons.
As far as his one-day career is concerned, Jonathan Trott has played 68 ODIs, scoring 2819 runs at an average of 51.2.
#4 Kevin Pietersen
The cricketer fraternity was left in awe when Kevin Pietersen announced his arrival in international cricket. Having all shots in the books, Kevin Pietersen was born to play cricket. The sight of him playing with absolute ease looked pleasant to the eye. During his brief international cricket career, Kevin Pietersen impressed one and all with his destructive power-hitting.
He didn’t take too long to grab headlines and completed 1000 runs in ODI cricket in just 21 inning. He is currently the fourth-fastest batsmen to complete 1000 runs in ODI. In his illustrious international career, Pietersen has played 134 ODIs and 104 Tests, scoring 4440 runs and 8181 runs at an average of 40.7 and 47.3 respectively.
#3 Viv Richards
West Indies’s legendary cricketer, Viv Richards will always be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen to ever play the game. Viv Richards changed the outlook of batting in cricket. With his destructive brand of hitting, he would give nightmares to bowlers.
A man who always wore his heart on his sleeve, Viv Richards completed 1000 runs in ODI cricket in just 21 innings. Counted as the third fastest to complete 100 runs in ODI cricket, Viv Richard’s international cricket career numbers speak for itself.
Viv Richards enjoyed a stellar cricket career. He played 187 ODIs and 121 Tests, scoring 6721 and 8540 runs respectively.
#2 Imam Ul-Haq
Imam Ul-Haq started his cricketing career with a lot of promise. He notched a century in his debut one-day international against Sri Lanka. Runs started to flow with a great pace afterward. In his 19th innings, he hit a century against South Africa and in the process completed 1000 runs in One-Day Internationals.
He is currently the second-fastest batsman to reach 1000 runs in One-Day Internationals.
#1 Fakhar Zaman
Pakistan’s opening batsman, Fakhar Zaman holds the record for being the fastest batsman to reach 1000 runs in one-day internationals. The way he started off his international career, he was touted as the next big thing in Pakistan Cricket. It took just 18 innings for Fakhar Zaman to complete 1000 runs in One-Day Internationals.
He achieved the landmark while playing against Zimbabwe in the year 2018. Fakhar Zaman in his one-day international cricket career has played 47 one-day internationals, scoring 1960 runs at an average of 45.6 and a strike rate of 95.2.
