Top 5 Unbreakable Records In ODI Cricket

One-day International (ODI) cricket was introduced in 1971 with Australia registering victory in the first-ever match over England (MCC) by 5 wickets in Melbourne.

50 years on, the game has changed significantly in white-ball cricket since; for starters, the number of overs in an ODI was changed a few times in the previous century. The ball, the clothing, the boundary sizes, which in cricket still remains varied across grounds, powerplay rules have seen plenty of alterations in it, and the recent introduction of two new balls, one from each end to be bowled with.

The World Cups taking place every four years provides the context to the matches, which has now become more with the inaugural World Cup Super League, a pathway to the mega-event.

Former India opener Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of most runs (18426) and most hundreds (49) in the 50*over format, and is being chased by Virat Kohli for it. Sri Lankan legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has taken the most wickets in both ODIs (534) and Tests (800). Like these, there are some records that may seem unbreakable too.

Top 5 Unbreakable Records In ODI Cricket

Misbah-ul-Haq: Most ODI Runs Without A Century – 5122 Runs

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq retired with 5122 ODI runs, which he scored in 149 games at an average of 43.40. He holds a weird record though.??Misbah batted from number 3 to 6 in all but 7 matches of his career. Hence, it is surprising that the right-hander couldn’t manage to score a single three-figure score in ODIs, despite crossing the 50-run mark 42 times.

He remains the batsman with most ODI runs without a century; in Test cricket, this record is held by Shane Warne, who scored 3154 runs without reaching the landmark three-digit figure.

Misbah’s record is likely to stay as the lower-order batters these days don’t get enough time to spend in the middle. Or either, it would be a collapse at the top which would give them a chance to score a hundred.

Ricky Ponting: Most Matches As ODI Captain – 230 Matches

Arguably the greatest captain in the white-ball format, Ricky Ponting has led Australia in 230 ODI matches, winning 165 and with 51 losses. A massive winning percentage of 76.14. Only two other captains – Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni – have captained their country in 200 or more ODIs.

Apart from scoring over 13,000 runs in both Test and ODI, the Tasmania-born led his country to two World Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2007 during decade-long domination of Australian cricket on the world. He was part of the 1999 World Cup win as well under Steve Waugh.

His 230-match captaincy record is likely to sustain as players don’t play all formats for a long period of time as he did, or aren’t retained as the skipper of the side due to the mercurial nature of cricket in the current era.

Australia: 3 Consecutive World Cup Wins (1999,2003,2007)

Australia have won a total of five 50-over World Cups so far – the most by any country. Under Allan Border, they grasped the trophy for the first time in 1987, before waiting for 12 years to claim it again. It also began the rise of an untouchable, nigh-unbeatable Australian era, where they would see three consecutive World Cup triumphs.

Steve Waugh led the side to the 1999 World Cup win in England beating Pakistan in the final; Ricky Ponting levelled it up with an enviable dominance in the 2003 and 2007 World Cup beating India and Sri Lanka respectively in the final.

Michael Clarke brought back the glory in the 2015 event at home. The feat achieved by the teams under Waugh and Ponting of a hat-trick of World Cups has a one-to-million odds to be matched – if any team or captain dares to even think of it.

Chaminda Vaas: Best ODI Bowling Figures – 8/19

Chaminda Vaas holds the record for the best bowling figures in an ODI game; in a single spell of high-class pace bowling, he recorded 8/19 against Zimbabwe in 2001 in Colombo (SSC), bundling them for the total of just 38. Vaas took a hat-trick as well during his 8-wicket riot.

Vaas remains the only bowler to take 8 wickets in an ODI. On 11 occasions a bowler has ended up with 7 wickets. With pitches being relatively flatter, little assistance to the bowlers in terms of lateral movement after the initial overs, batting only getting easier in white-ball cricket, and the analysis available at the batters’ disposal about the bowler, it is highly unlikely that any bowler will go past Vaas’ feat.

Muttiah Muralitharan: Most ODI Wickets – 534

While Sachin Tendulkar‘s record of most runs and most centuries in ODIs can be surpassed, it is Muttiah Muralitharan’s haul of 534 ODI wickets which seems the most insurmountable. And both are for the same reason – white-ball cricket getting more batting-friendly and more averse for the bowlers.

The next best is Wasim Akram with 502 scalps to his name followed by 416 wickets by Waqar Younis. Among the active bowlers, nobody has taken more than 300 ODI wickets. Muralitharan is also the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 800 wickets, 92 more than second-placed Shane Warne.

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