Top 10 ODI batsmen from the 90s
In the 90s, when Sachin Tendulkar was building his reputation as the greatest batsman in the modern era, there were a few others who staked their claim as the best with the willow in the limited overs arena. During the 90s, ODI cricket was privileged to witness a galaxy of batting stalwarts who looked a class apart from the rest.
Sachin Tendulkar was engaged in a fierce rivalry with West Indian flawed genius Brain Lara, Australia’s Mark Waugh and Pakistan’s Inzamam Ul Haq for being hailed as the best stroke maker in the world. Besides them, you also had some world class batsmen in Aravinda De Silva, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanath Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar who were second to none with their ability with the willow.
So it would be interesting to compile a list of the best one day batsman of the 90s who entertained cricket fans all across the globe with their master class stroke play.
The time frame taken into consideration for selection is the decade of 90s (1990-1999)
For my selection, i have considered only those batsman who scored above 3000 runs at an average of at least 25.
I have considered consistency at run scoring, strike rate and ability to score hundreds as the main parameters for ranking the batsmen from 1 to 10.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar is arguably God’s greatest gift to world cricket. Sachin was India’s batting mainstay all through the 90s. A young Tendulkar started his career batting in the middle order but a whirlwind 82 off just 49 deliveries against New Zealand at Napier opening the innings tempted the Indian think tank to make him shift up the order. There was no looking back. Sachin made the opening slot his own and became a prolific run-getter for India all through the 90s.
The 'Master Blaster' plundered 24 tons against quality attacks all through the decade. His game was based on his perfect balance, still head and exquisite timing. He possessed all the shots in armory but looked vintage with his classic drives straight down the ground. Sachin carried the expectation of billion die-hard fans and more often than not brought joy and happiness to the entire nation with his exceptional strokeplay.
Sachin Tendulkar ODI Record (1990- 1999)
Matches:228 | Runs: 8571 | Avg: 43.07 | SR: 86.81 | 100s 24