5 best batting performances of Week 1 of 2023 ODI World Cup ft. Rohit Sharma and Aiden Markram
The opening week of the ongoing ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 has come to an end. The highly anticipated 13th edition of the prestigious tournament has started off magnificently, with some high-octane clashes.
The first seven days have witnessed a total of nine matches take place, with New Zealand, India, and Pakistan sitting on top with four points each. Meanwhile, Australia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands are still in search of their first wins.
The major highlight of the opening week has certainly been the high-scoring affairs. The pitches in India have largely been good for the batters, with as many as 11 players hitting centuries in just nine encounters.
A total of 4,894 runs have been scored by the ten nations together at a scoring run rate of 6.02.
On that note, let's take a look at the five best batting performances from Week 1 of the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup.
Note: Only games from Match 1 (ENG vs NZ) to Match 9 (IND vs AFG) of the World Cup have been taken into consideration.
#5 Rohit Sharma - 131 off 84 vs Afghanistan in Delhi
![Rohit Sharma raising his bat after a century [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/dc4c8-16970935162225-1920.jpg?w=500)
Rohit Sharma capped off the first week by putting the Afghanistan bowling to the sword and scoring a blazing 131 off 84 balls to help India win the game by eight wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11.
Chasing a modest total of 273 runs, Rohit made a mockery of the target and gave the jam-packed Delhi crowd an entertaining show with his willow.
Within the first powerplay, the 'Hitman' mustered 76 runs off 43 balls and didn't give the opposition any breathing space.
Sharma judged the lengths brilliantly and put all his might behind each of his strokes to hit 16 boundaries and five big sixes to end up scoring 131 runs.
He reached his century in only 63 balls, which is now the fastest ODI World Cup ton by an Indian. It was Sharma's seventh century in the showpiece event, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's six centuries to become the batter with the most number of hundreds in ODI World Cups.
Virat Kohli also chipped in with a half-century of his own (55*) as India chased down the total with eight wickets and 90 balls to spare.
#4 Mohammed Rizwan - 131* off 121 vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
![Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/756ef-16970943364012-1920.jpg)
The match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka saw as many as four centuries being hit. While Kusal Mendis (122) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (108) made brilliant hundreds to set up a huge total of 344 runs on the board, Abdullah Shafique (113) and Mohammad Rizwan's (131*) tons outdid their efforts.
Pakistan made history by chasing down the highest total in the ODI World Cup when they hunted down 345 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 10.
Pakistan endured a doggy start, as they lost both Imam-ul-Haq (10) and Babar Azam (12) inside the powerplay.
The team was under extreme pressure when Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan took charge and steadied the ship for Pakistan. Both added 176 runs for the fourth wicket and drag Pakistan closer to the target.
Rizwan, in particular, played his best ODI knock as he batted his way through cramps to find a way for Pakistan to win the tie. Even after losing Shafique in the 34th over, Rizwan continued his toil and kept the required run rate within the range.
In the 42nd over, Rizwan completed his century in 97 balls before hitting the winning runs to help Pakistan record a famous win. Rizwan's 131* runs is now also the highest individual score by a Pakistani wicketkeeper in ODIs.
#3 KL Rahul - 97* off 115 vs Australia in Chennai
The only two-figure knock to feature on this list is KL Rahul's match-changing 97* off 115 balls against Australia in Chennai.
Chasing 200, the Men in Blue were in dire straits at 2/3 when Rahul walked into bat. The trio of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer recorded respective ducks, and Australia were truly on top when Rahul joined forces with Virat Kohli.
While Kohli was handed a reprieve when Mitchell Marsh dropped him inside the powerplay, Rahul remained calm and collected right from the start. He weathered the storm of the Aussie pacers and moved the chase forward.
As India didn't have a huge total to hunt down, Rahul had the time to settle in and play each ball on its merit. This somewhat frustrated the Australians, and when they dished out bad deliveries, the Indian wicketkeeper batter was quick to put them away.
Kohli also played his part magnificently and made 85 runs off 116 balls. He and Rahul added 165 runs for the fourth wicket, which was also the highest partnership for India against Australia in ICC ODI World Cups.
While he didn't get to his century, Rahul scored 97* and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his heroics. Regardless, his 97-run knock is worth its weight in gold and is no less than a century itself.
#2 Devon Conway - 152* off 121 vs England in Ahmedabad
![Devon Conway acknowledging his milestone vs ENG [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/80d97-16970961137205-1920.jpg)
An elegant batter with a composed head on his shoulders, Devon Conway began the tournament on a high note as he plundered 152* runs in the opening game against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
New Zealand first did a fantastic job in restricting England to 273/9 in the first innings, with Matt Henry taking a three-wicket haul. In reply, the Kiwis were jolted early as they lost Will Young on a golden duck. However, little did the English team know what was coming their way.
Opening batter Conway and youngster Rachin Ravindra bamboozled the English bowling attack of Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid. The two left-handers were spotless in their affair and negotiated both spin and pace in the best possible manner.
While Ravindra's knock was hugely encouraging, Conway took the English bowlers on a ride himself as he used his bottom hand to perfect and showed his class by punishing the bowlers to all parts of the ground.
Conway completed his century in 83 balls and scored his next 52 runs in just 38 balls. He ended up with his career-best score of 152* runs. In doing so, he also became the first-ever player to reach the 150-run mark during a successful run chase in ODI World Cup history.
His match-winning unbeaten partnership of 273 runs alongside Ravindra broke the record for stitching up the highest partnership during a run-chase in an ODI World Cup match.
#1 Aiden Markram - 106 off 54 vs Sri Lanka in Delhi
![South Africa's Aiden Markram pumped up after his ton v Sri Lanka at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 [Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/982b2-16970966909901-1920.jpg)
South Africa's Aiden Markram set the stage on fire as his blitzkrieg against Sri Lanka left every spectator in a awe. The 29-year-old wreaked havoc with his marvelous 49-ball century - the fastest ever ODI World Cup hundred by a batter.
Although the surface in Delhi is not known for high-scoring matches, the track provided nothing for the bowlers as the batters made merry.
Firstly, both Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen made superb centuries. While De Kock made 100 off 84 balls, Rassie was brilliant during his 110-ball 108.
With two new batters in Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen, Sri Lanka thought they could sneak in some quiet overs. However, they were left stunned how easily Markram hammered boundaries for fun.
After making nine runs off his first ten balls, Markram went berserk and played some top-quality shots to complete his half-century in 34 balls.
There was no stopping Markram as he set the stage on fire by smashing his next 50 runs in only 15 balls, thus reaching his century in just 49 balls. He struck at a marvelous rate of 194.3 and clobbered 14 boundaries and three maximums in the process.
His knock 106-run knock was of the highest order, helping South Africa post a humongous total of 428/5.
Despite Kusal Mendis' freakish 76 runs off 42 balls in the second innings, South Africa comprehensively won the game by 102 runs to commence their World Cup campaign on a superb note.