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5 Players Who Have Faced The Most Deliveries In A Single 50-Over ODI Match

The most telling aspect of a limited-overs fixture is that a team can only face a limited number of deliveries. Hence, a batsman can’t waste too many balls, nor can he use up a lot of deliveries, adding very little to the scoreboard. Although it’s never out in the open, coaches would usually plan backstage regarding the number of deliveries each batsman must face for the benefit of the team. In this article, we take a look at five players who have faced the most deliveries in a single 50-over ODI match so far.

5) Javed Miandad (Pakistan) – 163 Balls

Opposition: West Indies || Runs – 63* || Venue – Perth || Year – 1989

Javed Miandad was always known for his attacking display of batsmanship. However, in this game, Miandad faced 163 balls to construct a score of 63*. That said, considering his team was down to 59-6, it is understandable that Miandad had to drop anchor and hold the innings.

Interestingly, the Pakistan legend scored just one boundary in this knock. He helped his side complete 50 overs with 140 runs on the board. West Indies chased the total with 70 deliveries remaining.

4) David Boon (Australia) – 168 Balls

Opposition: India || Runs – 102* || Venue – Hobart || Year – 1991

50-over ODI games were relatively new then. Also, ODI batting was conservative back then, and it was not a surprise when India put up a target of just 176 in this fixture. The Man of the Match in the 1987 World Cup final, David Boon, helped Australia chase this target comfortably.

Opening the batting, the right-hander took 168 deliveries to construct a score of 102, which was sufficient to chase the target. This stat has him fourth on this list of players who have faced the most deliveries in a single 50-over ODI match so far.

3) Janneman Malan (South Africa) – 169 Balls

Opposition: Ireland || Runs – 177* || Venue – Dublin || Year – 2021

In this series of three ODI’s, the first ODI ended in a no result. However, Ireland handed a shock defeat to South Africa in the second game. The Proteas needed a strong fightback, and it came through the bat of 25-year-old opener Janneman Malan.

He stands third in this list of players who have faced the most deliveries in a single 50-over ODI match so far. Fairly new to the scene, alongside Quinton de Kock, Malan hit 16 boundaries and six sixes to help his team put up a total of 346 onboard, which they defended easily later. Malan’s score is South Africa’s fourth-highest ODI individual score so far.

2) Ashish Bagai (Canada) – 172 Balls

Opposition: Scotland || Runs – 137* || Venue – Nairobi || Year – 2007

For the second position on this list, we go back to an ICC World Cricket League Division One fixture in 2007. The match was between Canada and Scotland. Delhi-born Ashish Bagai was the star of this game, as he scored 137 runs off 172 deliveries in this game. It was his first hundred, but his team still fell short by seven runs in the chase. Had Ashish batted a little faster, things could have been different.

Nevertheless, he got another hundred a few days later against Ireland. Ashish was named the Player of the Tournament for his consistent batting. A few years later, he also became the captain of the country.

1) Rohit Sharma (India) – 173 Balls

Opposition: Sri Lanka || Runs – 264 || Venue – Kolkata || Year – 2014

In a one-day fixture, there have been five players who have faced more deliveries than Rohit Sharma in a single inning. However, all these five players achieved the feat when one ODI game used to consist of sixty overs for each side. After the format was trimmed to 50 overs a team, no player has been able to beat Rohit Sharma’s achievement of facing 173 deliveries in one game.

The Indian opener’s score of 264 is the highest individual score in ODI cricket, so far. He took more than half of the team’s allotted deliveries to get to the act. Striking at 152.60, Rohit’s knock included 33 boundaries and nine sixes. The next player who faced the most deliveries for the team in this game was Virat Kohli. Virat faced 64 deliveries in the encounter.

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