Finishing the innings is one of the toughest tasks in ODI cricket. ODI cricket has been blessed to witness several great finishers like MS Dhoni, Michael Bevan, Kieron Pollard, Lance Klusener, Robin Singh, and more.
As a finisher, you have to play dual roles for your team: Performing the anchoring role during batting collapses, and when the top and middle-order have clicked, the No.7 should start striking from ball one, which is never easy.
Playing with maturity is one of the crucial qualities a finisher must possess in ODIs. Usually, a No.7 doesn’t get a chance to play a long innings as they walk in to bat with very few overs remaining or have to bat with Tail-enders.
However, on a few occasions, No. 7 batters have piled big scores in ODIs. This article will look at the Top 10 highest individual scores by a batter at No.7 in ODIs:
| BATSMAN | SCORE AS NO. 7 | BALLS TAKEN | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Ronchi (NZ) | 170* | 99 | Sri Lanka |
| Marcus Stoinis (AUS) | 146* | 117 | New Zealand |
| Thisara Perera (SL) | 140 | 74 | New Zealand |
| Michael Bracewell (NZ) | 140 | 78 | India |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 139* | 97 | Africa XI |
| Shaun Pollock (SA) | 130 | 110 | Asia XI |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 121 | 74 | Sri Lanka |
| James Faulkner (AUS) | 116 | 73 | India |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 113* | 125 | Pakistan |
| Mohammad Kaif (IND) | 111* | 112 | Zimbabwe |
Stats Insights
The New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi has the highest individual score (170*) at the No. 7 batting position in ODI. He battered 14 fours and 9 sixes in his innings against Sri Lanka at Dunedin. Ronchi is the only player to score a 150-plus score batting at No.7 in ODI cricket. Watch the classy innings in the video below.
The most interesting fact is that the top 3 highest individual scores of a No. 7 batsman has come in New Zealand. It can be due to the fact that New Zealand grounds are smaller in size.
MS Dhoni finds his place twice in this top 10 list. It shows the aura of MS Dhoni – the finisher in ODIs. He completely nailed the finishing role in ODI cricket. Captain Cool is also the only batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score more than 1 century while batting at the No. 7 position. In contrast, Zimbabwe batsman Elton Chigumbura scored the most fifties.
Shahid Afridi has the highest batting strike rate (131) at No. 7 in ODIs., whereas Michael Hussey has the highest ODI batting average (121) at No. 7 in ODIs.
New Zealand batsman Chris Harris has scored the most runs playing as No.7 in ODIs. Shaun Pollock tops the chart of No. 7 batters with the most fours (19) in a single innings in ODI at the No.7 position. At the same time, Thisara Perera holds the record of smashing the most sixes (13) in a single innings at No.7 in One Day International (ODI).
Related: Which Indian batsman has hit the most number of sixes in a single ODI innings?
