Some batsmen played the game of cricket with such fervour that their exquisite strokes and drives turned it into a work of art. Some played it patiently, picking runs like a run machine, while others used power hitting to obliterate lovely deliveries. The flawless footwork, drives, hooks/pulls, and several other skillful strokes are applauded and admired by the crowd. Greatest batsman do more than just score runs for themselves; they also contribute to the success of their teams. Because of this, a batsmen’s performance determines whether a team will win or lose a game. Some best batsman in the world who batted throughout their careers carved out a place for themselves will always be recognised.
Here’s a list of Top 10 Best Batsman In The World –
1. Don Bradman
Don Bradman will probably still be considered as the greatest batsmen in 100 years. 52 Tests, 6996 Test runs, 29 Test centuries, 99.94 Test batting average. They are Bradman’s numbers, Bradman is simply an unmatched run machine. He was a batsmen in control of himself, quick with judgement, attentive with foot and eye, exact with execution, and strong in mind and body. He was the epitome of batsmanship. Bradman single handedly won numerous games and test series for Australia. In the lengthy history of test cricket, no other batter has a batting average that is about 50% better than his.
A player who scores a century every four tests is typically regarded as a legend. In his 52 test matches, Bradman scored 29 centuries. Bradman’s Test batting average, built over 20 years, 1928 to 1948, is 99.94. In Test games, he recorded 12 double centuries. On the 1930 tour of England in five Tests, Bradman scored 974 runs – a record that still stands, played world record 334 innings at Leeds at the age of just 21, including 300 runs in one day. While most players, if not all players, had slumps in performance, he consistently maintained his dominance. That’s what made him stand out the most. Bradman is twice as good as everyone else when it comes to his performances. While other top players in Test cricket average about 50, he averages just under 100. Australia only lost two of the series he played in.
He batted during a period when large, massive runs were required, and he delivered them unlike any other batsman before or since. No one has ever dominated to the same degree or reeled off large scores with such regularity. More than 70 years after his last Test, Bradman’s batting average of 99.94 still seems to be unbelievable. In fact, his record is so far ahead of everyone else’s that it’s hard to think one man could be so successful over the course of a 20 years career. Bradman is an icon in the sport of cricket and was more than just a player. The most amazing feat in cricket, or possibly even in any sport, is Bradman’s batting average, which adds to the sense of a sporting genius whose accomplishments were superhuman.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar is simply the best batsman in the world in his or any generation. Ever since his test debut, aged just 16, Tendulkar stood out as an exceptional talent. When in form he had the ability, along with all the truly great batsmen, to hit even good, well-directed, deliveries to the boundary. Sachin has made a bigger impact on the world stage than any other cricketer, revered throughout India, rich beyond the wildest dreams. Not just the runs or the centuries were important. It was about having a billion people cheering him on every time he took the field to bat. And Sachin Tendulkar managed the pressure and emerged as maybe the most beloved cricket player in the sport’s history. Due to his positive aggression and skillful stroke-play, every team he faced worldwide acknowledged his dominance.
He made history in 1992 by becoming the youngest player to ever score a Test century in Australia, forever changing the face of the game. In 2010, when he turned 37, became the first batsmen in history to score a double century in a one-day international vs South Africa. Also noteworthy is the fact that 20 of the 100 international centuries came against the top-ranked team in the world Australia. Sachin holds the records for the most runs scored, the most hundreds and the most fifties in both Test and ODI format. Sachin had played 6 World Cups (1992-2011) and scored the most runs than any other in world cup history. In World Cup, Tendulkar played 44 matches and scored 2278 runs at superb 56.95 average. He was also the Man of the tournament in the 2003 World Cup with 673 runs in 11 matches, which is also the highest run by any batsman in a single World cup tournament.
He was a master batsmen and an absolute genius. He persevered for a very long time, pushing through one milestone after another, and by the time he retired, his record stood as not just unmatched but likely uncatchable. In truth, it was precisely that mental toughness and dedication, that constant desire for the game: 200 Test matches, 15,921 Test runs, 51 Test hundreds; 463 one-day internationals, 18,426 one-day runs, 49 one-day hundreds. All of them are records and proof of consistently high standards under all circumstances. His combative aim and unstoppable attitude inspired a new generation of Indians to play at the crease. The major factor in why Indian cricket transformed from a fun hobby to a national obsession was Tendulkar.
3. Brian Lara
Brian Lara is certainly one of the best stroke players to ever play the game of cricket. Lara had beautiful timing and that ability to find the gaps allowed him to score so quickly with astonishing shots. He was a truly humble champion, outstanding talent and one of the best batsman in the world. He was absolute magic to watch. He would have carried the weight of the whole West Indies team on his shoulders for a very long time; if he failed, the West Indies would have failed. Lara played numerous truly outstanding match winning innings single-handedly with their technical brilliance than any batsman in the history of test cricket against all teams and especially against the world’s best team, Australia. Therefore he places head and shoulders above their all batting rivals in test cricket.
In the 1992/93 series against Australia, he scored 277 at the SCG was a phenomenal innings. In 1994 in Antigua he scored 375 runs against England and broke Sir Gary Sober’s 36 year-old record for the highest individual test innings. Lara will be best known for twice setting the world record in test cricket, which still stands at 400 runs against England in Antigua in 2004. He will also be remembered for his 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in a county championship game, which is still the highest individual score in any first-class cricket match. He ranks third among Test batsmen with nine double centuries, behind only Donald Bradman and Kumar Sangakkara.
His unbeaten 153 against Australia in Barbados in March 1999, which helped the West Indies to win by one wicket, was arguably his best test innings of his career. He scored three successive hundreds for the West Indies in England in 1995: 145 at Old Trafford, 152 at Trent Bridge, and 179 at The Oval. In 2001, West Indies toured Sri Lanka, Lara scored 178 in Galle, 221 and 130 in Colombo. He scored total 688 runs throughout the series, averaging 114.66 – phenomenal figures. In November 2005, Brian Lara became the highest run scorer in Test cricket when he broke Allan Border’s 11174 runs record. In October 2008 the record was later broken by Sachin Tendulkar. He also became the second batsmen after Sachin Tendulkar to score 10,000 runs in both formats.
4. Viv Richards
From the moment Viv Richards walked to the crease, gum-chewing and arm-swinging, the spectators knew they were in the presence of somebody special. Vivian Richards is the only best batsman in the world who had the ability to frighten his opponents even before receiving a ball. He is also known as the genuine “Master Blaster” the game of cricket has ever seen in both formats. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall and had the physique of a boxer, with broad shoulders and strong arms. He was stylish, strong, and reckless, Richards never wore a helmet in his whole career. The cap served as a constant reminder that no bowler, no matter how quick and skillful, could challenge his dominance.
He scored 1,281 runs with an average of 55.69 in 14 World Series “Super Tests.” Viv Richards set a record for the most runs scored by a single batsman in Test matches in a calendar year in 1976, scoring 1,710 runs in 11 Tests. Against England scored including 232 at Trent Bridge, 135 at Old Trafford, and 291 at The Oval at an average of 118.42. This phenomenal record held for thirty years. He was even more effective in One Day International with Richards match-winning 138 against England in the 1979 World Cup final, the West Indies successfully defended their World cup title.
Then, in 1984 vs England, he set a world record at the time by scoring 189 unbeaten ODI run innings that is still regarded as the best of all time, and that performance aided him in earning the greatest batting rating in ODI history according to the ICC. With his 56-ball century in the fourth innings of a Test match against England in 1986, Vivian Richards revolutionised cricket. For the next 31 years, that innings would stand as the record for the fastest Test cricket century.
5. Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar is also known as the Little master who is widely regarded the best batsman in the world that India has ever produced in test cricket. He possessed excellent skill, balance, and an excellent eye for following and moving the ball. He was a master at both defence and hitting. No one had scored more runs against the mighty West Indies in a Test match than he did. No one in the history of Test cricket has ever had a remarkable opening scores, which began in 1971 against the mighty West Indies and set the tone for the rest of his career. By the time the four games were over, he had scored 774 runs at an average of 154.80, with the last Test at Trinidad yielding scores of 124 and 220.
He is the first batsman in the world to score 10,000 runs in test cricket and also overtook Don Bradman’s record of twenty-nine Test centuries. For the majority of his career, Gavaskar carried the nation’s hopes on his shoulders. The opposition valued his wicket the most, therefore no matter how many runs he made, India would still have hope if he batted all day and was still unbeaten at the end. He achieved a legendary victory with his 221 vs England at The Oval in 1979, and the entire India rejoiced when, on March 7, 1987, he took a quick single against Pakistan to become the first batsmen to score 10,000 Test runs.
6. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting was a stunning sight to watch as a batsmen. His signature shots included the straight drive down the ground to balls full on off stump and the swivel pull off the front foot. He dominates the bowlers, launching strong, precisely timed strokes to every section of the ground. He is the first best batsman in the world to surpass 1000 Test runs in a calendar year, the most hundreds by an Australian in a year (seven in 2006), the first to do it at four separate grounds, and one of just five players to have scored back-to-back double centuries in Test matches.
He later advanced to skipper, like many of the finest players, and guided his team to victories in both the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. In the 2003 World Cup final against India, he scored an unbeaten and match winning 140 runs. Many consider his match saving 156 at Old Trafford during the 2005 Ashes series to be among the greatest test cricket innings ever. At the time of his retirement, he was second on both lists with more than 13,000 runs in both formats, behind only Sachin Tendulkar (the only player with more international hundreds than Ponting’s 71).
7. Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist is certainly one of the cricket’s best batsman in the world and the best wicketkeeper in the world. Gilchrist had been a part of Australia’s one-day squad for three years and had established himself as a lethal opening batsman with multiple hundreds and match winning knocks to his credit. No one had ever scored as many runs as quickly as he did, whether he was opening the innings in ODI cricket or playing his usual position of number seven for the Test team. There have been many brilliant batsmen, but none have ever struck the ball with such consistency and confidence as Gilchrist. Gilchrist’s powerful swing launched cricket into a brand-new age. He was a batsman with keeping ability who was introduced to Test cricket after destroying the finest bowlers in the world in one-day matches.
Many factors contributed to Australia’s strength, but Gilchrist’s presence was unquestionably a key element in their hegemony at the turn of the century. He also participated in three winning World Cup finals, in 1999, 2003, and 2007. On each occasion, he contributed many runs. In tests, he scored 5570 runs at 47.60 average with 17 hundreds, incredibly impressive numbers. He was the first batsman in test cricket to smash 100 sixes. In 1999 test match, Batting at No. 7, Gilchrist put on 238 with Langer in only his second Test, scoring 149 unbeaten, leading to an unlikely victory over Pakistan. His brutal 204 not out score against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2002 test, with 19 fours and 8 sixes, was at the time the fastest double tonne in history.
In the 2007 World Cup final at Barbados against Sri Lanka, he scored tremendous match winning 149 runs innings off just 104 deliveries which remains the highest individual innings in a World Cup final. Gilchrist took brutal vengeance during the following Ashes series in Australia in 2006–2007, splattering English bowling throughout Perth in what was at the time the second-fastest Test century ever. In ODIs he scored over 9,619 runs with 16 centuries 55 fifties at a phenomenal strike rate of almost 97 runs per 100 balls faced. In addition to his stats, Gilchrist made a significant contribution to cricket through his regard for the sport. He had dominated bowlers from all over the globe in his whole career, scoring centuries at an astonishing rate.
8. Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is one of the best batsman in the world who was exceptional, had improved as more responsibility had been placed on him while batting higher up the order. He was a left handed batsmen with the skill to score runs in every situation and in any format as well as the focus to be one of the greatest accumulators. He became the most prolific run scorer the game had ever seen, effortlessly producing double hundreds with each swing of his bat. Even while he undoubtedly is one on a large scale, he is more than simply a run scorer. More than anyone other than Don Bradman, he has scored 11 double century in Test cricket.
By April 2008, he had played 90 Test matches, scoring 6,127 runs at an average of 55.19. Only Bradman (68), Sobers (111), and Hammond (114) have surpassed 6,000 Test runs in less innings than he did. Few Asian batsmen can match his record of more than 5,000 Test runs at an average well over 50 recorded outside Sri Lanka. Sangakkara and Jayawardene collaborated on a number of significant stands, including one against South Africa in Colombo that set a world record partnership of 624 runs. He set a new record by reeling off four consecutive centuries in the 2015 World Cup while only being 37 years old.
9. Javed Miandad
Undoubtedly, Javed Miandad is regarded as one of the best batsman in the world that Pakistan has ever produced. He had demonstrated his exceptional talent as a natural talented batsmen after facing only one or two balls. He was able to successfully mix his thirst for a battle with an aggressive playing style. He played his maiden Test at Lahore, defeating New Zealand with a score of 163. He then followed this up with 206 and 85 in the third and final Test in Karachi, becoming the youngest player to have smash a Test double-hundred at the age of 19 years and four months. Miandad’s Test batting average never fell below 50, and it was 52.57 when he eventually called it quits at the end of 1993.
His remarkable total of 8,832 runs at an average of 52.57 is the result of his ability to score huge runs when he entered the field. Nine of his 23 hundreds were worth more than 150, with the highest at 271 against New Zealand in 1989-90 and the greatest domestically being 280 not out against India in 1982-83. He was also the first Pakistani batsman since Hanif Mohammad, who scored 104 and 103 not out against New Zealand in 1984–85, to score a century in each of the two innings of a Test match. He was also very successful in one day international cricket, becoming the first player to compete in six World Cups. It is improbable that his record of nine consecutive ODI fifties will ever be broken.
10. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is globally well known as one of the best batsman in the world to have ever lived, is brave, tough, and fiercely talented. Kohli has carved out a special place for himself in Indian cricket with to his powerful bottom hand grip and his uncanny ability to smash balls that are landing in one location to any section of the pitch at will and with little danger. In addition, Kohli gained a reputation as “an master of the chase” for successfully pursuing enormous totals. In 2011, Kohli scored the most runs in ODIs with 1381 runs from 34 games, an average of 47.62, and four hundreds.
In 2012 Asia cup, he scored 183 against Pakistan, which was his 11th ODI century, as well as the highest individual score in the Asia cup. For team India, Virat Kohli scored the most century in a calendar year in this generation—13—in each of the years 2017 and 2018. At only 31 years old, Kohli still has plenty of cricket left in him to enthral the cricket community. Kohli got brilliant start in 2016 as he set a new record for the fastest 25 ODI hundreds.
In 2014 T20 world cup, Kohli scored 319 runs in that tournament that was the highest individual score. For that, he won the award of the man of the tournament. Even in the 2016 ICC World, T20 Kohli scored 273 runs in 5 matches, Kohli received man of the tournament. Kohli reached 10,000 ODI runs in 205 games in the West Indies series of 2018. He set records for being the 12th and quickest batsman. He reached 20,000 runs in 417 international matches, which was the fastest of any batter, in a match against the West Indies in June 2019.
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