It is believed that everyone is blessed with a special ability. But there are some fine exceptions, conspicuously in cricket. Such endowed people are termed as “all-rounders” in cricket. An all-rounder is the superglue that appends a cricket team and carries the load of two people in a team.
In the 49-years long history of ODI cricket, there have been few that have been gifted enough to be considered weapons with both the ball and bat.
In this article, we’ll be listing the top performances of such all-rounders who showed their dual magic in the same match and single-handedly defeated the oppositions. To hop onto the top-5 greatest Test All-round performances, click here.
Here are the top 5 all-round performances in the ODI history:
5. Tillakaratne Dilshan
Playing in front of the home crowd in a crucial World Cup game, Tillakaratne Dilshan displayed one of the most impactful individual performances in World Cup history.
Sri Lanka were asked to bat first in the game, and the decision worked in favour of the home side. The opening duo of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga made full use of the mediocre bowling threat given by the Zimbabwean side. Both the openers batted their heart out and scored a century each. Tharanga got out for 131 whilst Dilshan top-scored with 144 off 131 deliveries.
The Lankan batsman hit just a six in the whole innings but found the gaps with perfection as he struck 16 glorious boundaries. Sri Lanka ended the first innings with 327/6.
Sri Lanka, at the innings interval, definitely looked the favourites to triumph, but what followed was even better than what they would have hoped for. Zimbabwe got bundled out for a meagre 188 handing a humongous victory of 139 runs to the Lankan lions.
The chief destroyer with the ball as well was Tillakaratne Dilshan. Despite bowing only three overs in the innings, Dilshan was the pick of the bowlers. He gave only 4 runs in his 3 overs while showing the way towards pavilion to 4 Zimbabweans.
Match:
Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe | 10th March 2011
Performance Summary:
Batting: 144 (131) | 1 Six, 16 Fours | SR-109.92
Bowling: 4/4 (3 overs) | 1 Maiden | Eco-1.33
