Stats: Chronicling the fastest batsmen to complete 4000 runs in ODIs

Sir Viv Richards held the record for as many as 28 years

During the 80s and 90s, ODIs were considered an abridged form of Test cricket. However, as T20Is came into the picture, the 50-over format has undergone plenty of drastic changes. Especially, in the batting department, the game has moved on from calculated accumulation of runs to uninhibited stroke-play.

To a certain extent, the benchmark for standardising the quality of batting can be discerned from observing the fastest to reach multiples of 1000 runs. For the 4000-run mark, South African maestro Hashim Amla heads the list by a comfortable margin.

The elegant right-hander took just 81 innings to complete 4000 runs and consequently broke Sir Viv Richards’ longstanding record in ODIs. He accomplished the milestone during the Durban encounter in the 2013 bilateral series against India.

Richards had taken only 88 innings to reach the 4000-run mark. Rather fascinatingly, he needed 10 years to get to the milestone. In sharp contrast, Amla needed just five years to accumulate the aforementioned number of runs. The disparity in time span highlights the increase in the average number of ODIs from the 70s and 80s to the present era. 

Extra Cover: Stats – Chronicling the fastest batsmen to complete 3000 runs in ODIs

Virat Kohli, who recently became the quickest batsman to reach the 8000-run mark, comes in at third in this particular list. The Indian icon took only 18 innings to bridge the gap between 3000 and 4000 ODI runs. Similarly to him, Australia’s attacking opener David Warner also completed the latter milestone in 93 innings.

The only aspect connecting Gordon Greenidge and Kane Williamson is the fact that both batsmen needed 96 innings to get to the landmark. In terms of their approach to batting, the swashbuckling Bajan and the technically compact Kiwi were as different as chalk and cheese. 

Having dominated the ODI circuit in 90s, Brian Lara required around 100 innings to join the 4000-run club. Unlike the indifferent end to his 50-over career, the stylish left-hander was a force to reckon with during the initial part of his journey.

While trend-setting Australian batsman Dean Jones achieved the landmark in his 102^nd ODI innings, Faf du Plessis needed 104 innings. Upon reaching the milestone in 105 innings, Sourav Ganguly and AB de Villiers complete the list.

Among the modern-day generation, wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock can etch his name among the fastest batsmen to reach the 4000-run mark. He currently has 3519 runs from 85 ODI innings at an average of 43.44.

Fastest to 4000 ODI runs

Batsman	Team	Matches	Innings Taken	Debut	Year of Record	Opposition	Venue
Hashim Amla	South Africa	84	81	2008	2013	India	Durban
Sir Viv Richards	West Indies	96	88	1975	1985	New Zealand	Albion
Virat Kohli	India	96	93	2008	2013	England	Ranchi
David Warner	Australia	95	93	2009	2017	Bangladesh	The Oval
Gordon Greenidge	West Indies	97	96	1975	1988	England	Leeds
Kane Williamson	New Zealand	102	96	2010	2016	Bangladesh	Christchurch
Brian Lara	West Indies	101	100	1990	1996	New Zealand	Port of Spain
Dean Jones	Australia	104	102	1984	1990	New Zealand	Melbourne
Faf du Plessis	South Africa	108	104	2011	2017	England	Leeds
Sourav Ganguly	India	110	105	1992	1999	Sri Lanka	Colombo
AB de Villiers	South Africa	109	105	2005	2010	Pakistan	Dubai

(*Note: All Statistics are accurate as of 16^th June 2017)