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
4. Shahid Afridi
The Pakistani legend, who’s known for his monstrous hitting and sharp leg-spin, single-handedly crushed the host team during the 1st ODI of Pakistan’s tour of West Indies.
Pakistan were in all sorts of trouble when Afridi walked out to bat. When Umar Akmal got out in 21st over, the score read 47/5, and the onus was now on the shoulders of Shahid Afridi. Afridi, quite contrary to the situation, played his natural game and counter attacked the West Indian bowling line up. He scored a breezy 76 off 55 balls only with a strike rate of 138, whereas the rest of the Pakistani batting lineup made 120 off 245 balls at a strike rate of 48 as 28 runs were extras.
He struck 6 fours and 5 sixes in his quickfire knock. On the back of his knock, Pakistan made a respectable total of 224/9 in 50 overs.
Considering the batting power they possessed, 225 was nowhere near a tough target for the Caribbean team, but what followed was nothing but an absolute surrender in front of Shahid Afridi. The batting lineup got demolished by Pakistan as 7 batsmen fell prey to the leg-spin of Shahid Afridi.
Bowling 9 overs, Afridi bowled 3 maidens and gave away just 12 runs. West Indies could score only 22 runs more than what Afridi scored in the first innings. Afridi starred with both bat and ball as Pakistan win the match by 126 runs.
Match:
Pakistan vs West Indies | 14th July 2013
Performance Summary:
Batting: 76 (55) | 5 Sixes, 6 Fours | SR-138.18
Bowling: 7/12 (9 overs) | 3 Maidens | Eco-1.33
3. Rohan Mustafa
The talented Rohan Mustafa became the 1st player from an Associate Member nation and just the 3rd player in the world to score a century and take 5 wickets in an ODI with his all-round individual performance against Papua New Guinea on 4 April, 2017.
Rohan, who was also captaining the Emirates side, won the toss in the history-making game against Papua New Guinea and elected to bat first. Rohan Mustafa, a left-handed batsman, and right-arm off-spin bowler, led from the front scoring 109 runs off 125 balls helping his side post a fighting total of 251/9 in their allotted 50 overs. His knock included 7 fours and a six.
In reply, Papua New Guinea folded up for just 148 runs in 35.2 overs with Rohan Mustafa again leading from the front to pick up 5 wickets for just 25 runs in 8.2 overs.
Match:
United Arab Emirates vs Papua New Guinea | 4 April 2017
Performance Summary:
Batting: 109 (125) | 1 Six, 7 Fours | SR-87.2
Bowling: 5/25 (8.2 overs) | 0 Maidens | Eco-3
2. Sir Vivian Richards
Sir Vivian Richards, arguably one of the greatest players to have graced the sport, was the first-ever cricketer in ODI history to score a century and take a fifer in the same match.
On 18 March 1987, West Indies lost the toss and were put in to bat first. Captain Viv Richards came in to bat at No.5 when the scoreboard showed the Windies’ score 50 for the loss of 3 wickets. Viv went on to score 119 off just 113 balls, thereby helping West Indies post a competitive total of 237 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 50 overs against New Zealand. With 10 fours and 4 sixes, he gave the much-required fire-power to the innings.
In the second innings, Sir Viv Richards again tormented the Kiwis picking up 5 wickets for 41 runs in his full quota of 10 overs with his mixed bag of slow-medium and off-breaks. Due to Richards’ exceptional performance, the Kiwis were bowled out for a paltry 142 runs in 42.1 overs, and the West Indies won by 95 runs.
Match:
West Indies vs New Zealand | 18 March 1987
Performance Summary:
Batting: 119 (113) | 4 Sixes, 10 Fours | SR-105.3
Bowling: 5/41 (10 overs) | 0 Maidens | Eco-4.1
1. Paul Collingwood
England had hosted Bangladesh and Australia in a triangular ODI series in 2005. During the 4th match of the series, Bangladesh got absolute hammering at the hands of the hosts.
England posted a tall figure of 391/4 in the first innings. Andrew Strauss started the flurry and scored a century, but it was Paul Collingwood’s remarkable knock that stole the show. Paul scored an unbeaten 112 off 86 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes taking his team really close to the imposing figure of 400.
In reply, Bangladesh had no clue whatsoever against the English bowlers, specifically Paul Collingwood, yet again. Collingwood completed his quota of 10 overs giving meagre 31 runs and, even more importantly, dismissed 6 Bangladeshi batsmen.
England won the game by a massive margin of 168 runs as Collingwood bestowed us all with an ‘once in a lifetime’ performance.
Match:
England vs Bangladesh | 21 June 2005
Performance Summary:
Batting: 112* (86) | 5 Sixes, 6 Fours | SR-130.23
Bowling: 6/31 (9 overs) | 1 Maiden | Eco-3.1
