Like in the case with Test cricket, scoring the most number of runs in a calendar year in ODIs is a historic feat in itself as it takes an insane amount of consistency and performance to be better than everyone else in the cricketing world that particular year. And to do it multiple times is proof that a batsman has achieved greatness.
There have been a few number of batters who have achieved this incredible milestone and proved that they are the best in the world and if any batter does it more than once that means he is in a Different league. So , let’s look at the Top 5 most number of runs scored by batsmen in ODIs history.
1. Sachin Tendulkar -1998 (1894 Runs):
This number is simply outrageous as no batsmen should be able to get this many runs in a calendar year but we are not talking about any ordinary batter but the greatest one day International player in Sachin Tendulkar and for this master nothing is impossible. He smashed 9 hundreds in one year and 2 of then came against Australia at Sharjah and one of them called the Desert Storm is considered the greatest ODI innings of all time. If there was an example of consistency and purple patch then Sachin Tendulkar in 1998 was that and his legendary battle with Shane Warne was the stuff of dreams for Indian fans.
2. Sourav Ganguly- 1999 (1767 Runs):
The year 1999 was great for Indian batters in ODI cricket as Two batters did amazingly well that year and the one who got just 6 more runs is Sourav Ganguly who had an incredible year in 1999 where he hit 4 hundreds and established himself as a top tier ODI batsman and even scored his highest innings of 183 runs and his six hitting abilities were second to none and did not consider left arm spin bowlers as bowlers. It was a great time for cricket as every team was equal and there were great matches.
3. Rahul Dravid- 1999 (1761 Runs):
Sourav Ganguly was not the only one who had a memorable 1999, his teammate Rahul Dravid had an equally great year with him hitting 6 centuries and he got his highest score in ODIs with 153 runs and he showed the world that Rahul Dravid was not ky a test match player but that he was equally capable in the white ball format and this is what made him a great batsman. The late 1990s was an amazing time for Indian cricket and long may it continue.
Also Read | Sachin Tendulkar vs Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar - 1996 (1611 Runs):
It is no surprise that the greatest ODI batter of all time features again in the top 5 of this list. In 1996 , Sachin again scored the most runs among all the batters in ODIs and at that time there was no one close to him in the world. He scored 6 amazing centuries and single handedly took India to the semi finals of the 1996 world cup and stood out in that world cup and other than that he dominated against all the teams in the world and all the bowlers were helpless as they thought of ways to get him out and to the delight of India fans he played long innings for India more often than not.
Also Read | Best Innings of Sachin Tendulkar
5. Matthew Hayden - 2007 (1601 Runs):
2007 was the year of Australia as they were the best team in the world by a mile and they easily won the 2007 cricket World Cup as well and Matthew Hayden was the stand out batter out of all the other greats in that team . He hit 5 hundreds during the year and was as dominant as it could get. It was a nightmare for his opponents as they used to fear what would happen to them in the match.
Also Read | Most wickets in a calendar year in ODI History
