India's 3 highest run-scorers in ODIs in 2023 ft. Virat Kohli
It was a classic case of "so near yet so far" for India in ODIs in 2023. It turned out to be the year where much of the discourse centered around the one contest that India failed to win.
India dominated everything that came its way heading into the much-anticipated home World Cup. They even stormed into the final without breaking a sweat before their juggernaut got halted by spirited Australia.
India's 27 wins in 35 ODIs in 2023 is the second-most by a team in a calendar year in the format, only behind Australia's 30 wins (in 35 games) in 2003. Also, they amassed nine 350+ and 11 300+ totals in 2023.
Batters played a major role in their dominance, with almost everyone in the top-5 scoring 1000+ runs and scoring 19 centuries in total as a batting unit.
On that note, let's know the batters who enjoyed the year 2023 and made sure that bowlers got enough runs on the board to defend.
India's 3 highest run-scorers in ODIs in 2023
#3 Rohit Sharma, 1,255 runs
Rohit Sharma aged like a fine wine, used a batting methodology to go as hard as possible in the powerplay, which paid immense dividends for the side.
In 26 ODIs, the skipper scored 1,255 runs, averaging 52.29 with a strike rate of 117.07. He slammed two centuries and nine half centuries during this course.
#2 Virat Kohli, 1,377 runs
As the cliche goes, "Form is temporary, but Class is permanent."
With the skillset Virat Kohli possesses, it was just a matter of when, not if, of him returning to his old run-machine form.
With him given the role of accumulator, Virat played his role to astute perfection throughout 2023 in ODIs. He amassed 1,377 runs in 24 innings, averaging 72.47 with a strike rate of 99.13.
Kohli also scored six centuries this year—the third time he has scored as many in a calendar year, which is yet another unique feat for a batter in ODIs.
His most significant century obviously came in the semifinal of the World Cup against New Zealand. He surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record of most centuries in ODI cricket, and became the first batter to reach the milestone of 50 centuries in the format.
#1 Shubman Gill, 1,584 runs
Shubman Gill had a dream of a start to 2023 when he registered a memorable ODI double century against New Zealand. He kept on piling runs for fun throughout the year.
Despite a slump in his form in the later phase of 2023, he managed to accumulate 1,584 runs in 29 innings, averaging 63.36 with a SR of 105.45, comprising five centuries and nine half centuries.