5 Batsmen who have scored most hundreds as captains in ODI Cricket
Being a premier batsman and captaining a side poses two challenges for a cricketer. For he not only has to be at his best with the willow but also has to worry about team combinations, make crucial bowling changes on the field and be on his toes to lead the team to a win.
That is why leading a side can make or break a career as well. While for some cricketers leading the side can affect their individual performances, some cricketers relish the opportunities and raise their game a notch higher.
Ricky Ponting’s 140* in the 2003 World Cup final is remembered and will be remembered by Australians as a knock of a captain who led from the front when the country needed it the most. MS Dhoni’s 91* is etched in the minds of Indian cricket fans as the Indian skipper anchored the batting line up and allowed a cricket-mad nation to lift the World Cup trophy after 28 years. And of course, Kapil Dev’s 175 in the 1983 World Cup against Zimbabwe resurrected the Indian innings from a precarious 17/5 to a competitive 266, enabling them to beat their opposition by 31 runs.
In this article, let us look at 5 cricketers who have scored the most ODI hundreds while captaining their side in ODI cricket.
#5. Sanath Jayasuriya
At No.5 comes the greatest opener Sri Lanka has ever produced in ODI cricket, Sanath Jayasuriya. The left-handed legend played a colossal 445 matches for Sri Lanka and scored 13430 runs at an average of 32.36, including 68 fifties and 28 hundreds. He also took 323 wickets in his ODI career, proving his worth as a useful left-arm spinner.
Jayasuriya led the Sri Lankan team 117 times in his career and scored 4364 runs including 25 fifties and 10 hundreds. His average of 38.62 was higher than his career average of 32.36, indicating that the swashbuckling opening batsman performed well as the leader of his team.
Overall Record
Innings: 433 | Runs: 13430 | Average: 32.36 | Hundreds: 28 | Fifties: 68
Record as Captain
Innings:117 | Runs: 4364 | Average: 38.62 | Hundreds: 10 | Fifties: 25
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