Top 10: Most Runs Against a Single Bowler in ODI Career

One-day Internationals has witnessed several great rivalries on the field. We have seen several legends face off against each other in ODI cricket. 

However, some battles become famous and are etched in the minds of cricket fans. In the rivalries which go on for 10 years, there are several turnarounds in it.

On some occasions, batsmen have gotten the better of the bowlers. While on some occasions, bowlers have dominated the batsman.

Mahela Jayawardene has the record for scoring the most runs against a single bowler in One Day International (ODIs). Jayawardene has scored 327 runs against Shahid Afridi, which is the most by any batsman against a single bowler in ODIs. Afridi managed to dismiss Jayawardene only on 5 occasions in 29 innings. Jayawardene has a strike rate of 73.64.

In this article, we will look at the list of the top 10 batsmen who have scored the most runs against a single bowler in ODI cricket:

Note: The data below only has the numbers recorded after the ball-by-ball commentary arrived in cricket in the early 2000s.

Most Runs Against a Single Bowler in ODIs

Key Stats

Virat Kohli’s batting average of 142 against Kemar Roach and a strike rate of 107.75 against Adam Zampa is the highest among any batter with more than 200 runs against a single batter in ODIs.

Kohli vs Kemar Roach (WI), MS Dhoni against Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), and Rahul Dravid against Abdul Razzaq (PAK) have been dismissed only twice in their ODI career – the lowest among the above list.

Related: Which bowler has dismissed Virat Kohli most times in each format?

Zaheer Khan was famous for making left-handed batsmen as his bunnies. But Kumar Sangakkara tackled Zaheer Khan brilliantly. Sangakkara has scored 266 runs against Zaheer Khan at a good average of 53.2 and a strike rate of 79. Zaheer Khan dismissed Sangakkara just 5 times in 33 innings in ODI Cricket. It was a great battle between the two lefties who were masters in their department.

It’s never an easy task for a bowler to dismiss Rahul Dravid in cricket. He stood like a wall. Rahul Dravid had a great rivalry with Pakistani pacers. He loved playing against Pakistan. Rahul completely dominated the battle against Abdul Razzaq. Dravid scored 256 runs against Razzaq at a brilliant average of 128. Razzaq dismissed Dravid just 2 times in 24 innings. However, he struggled to get the wicket of Rahul Dravid.

Sehwag’s fastest ODI century (which is India’s fastest century in an away ODI) came against New Zealand.

The rivalry between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Zaheer Khan was great to watch in ODIs. It was an even battle where both of them got better off each other on an equal number of occasions. Dilshan scored 249 runs against Zaheer Khan at an average of 41.50 and a strike rate of 92.91. Both of them opened the Innings for their team in their respective departments in the powerplay.

Adam Gilchrist was famous for providing quick starts to Australia in the Powerplay in ODIs. He had various interesting battles with Sri Lankan left-handed pacer Chaminda Vaas. Gilchrist scored 249 runs against Vaas at an average of 41.50. Vaas dismissed Gilchrist on 6 occasions in 22 innings. Gilchrist hit 27 fours and 6 sixes against Vaas in ODI cricket.

Related: Which batsman has scored the most 150+ scores in ODI?