If a team wants to set a huge total or chase a target quickly, they need daredevil batters in the squad. Such aggressive batters’ calculative risk-taking abilities to score runs at a faster pace put teams ahead of their opponents.
Even in the ODI format, batters set their eyes on providing a blistering start in the first 10 overs. The field restrictions further work in a batter’s favour to amass runs through boundaries in the powerplay.
On that note, here are the top 10 batters with the most runs in powerplay (first 10 overs) in an ODI innings.
Most Runs by a Batter in Powerplay in an ODI Innings
| Player | Runs in PP | Strike Rate | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Guptill (NZ) | 93 | 310.00 | Sri Lanka | Christchurch | 28 Dec 2015 |
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 77 | 285.18 | England | Gros Islet | 2 Mar 2019 |
| Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 77 | 308.00 | England | Wellington | 20 Feb 2015 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 76 | 176.74 | Afghanistan | Delhi | 11 Oct 2023 |
| Kusal Mendis (SL) | 72 | 205.71 | South Africa | Delhi | 7 Oct 2023 |
| Kusal Perera (SL) | 68 | 272.00 | Pakistan | Pallekele | 15 Jul 2015 |
| Alex Hales (ENG) | 66 | 183.33 | New Zealand | Nottingham | 17 Jun 2015 |
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 65 | 196.96 | India | Port of Spain | 14 Aug 2019 |
| Josh Inglis (AUS) | 65 | 154.76 | West Indies | Melbourne | 2 Feb 2024 |
| Upul Tharanga (SL) | 65 | 185.71 | South Africa | Cape Town | 7 Feb 2017 |
Key Insights
93: New Zealand’s Martin Guptill holds the record for smashing the most runs in the first powerplay in an ODI innings. The Kiwi opener scored an unbeaten 93 runs off 30 deliveries against Sri Lanka in 2015.
310: Guptill’s 93 came at a mind-blowing strike rate of 310, which is the highest by a batter with 60+ runs in the first 10 overs of an ODI. Brendon McCullum is the other batter who breached the 300+ strike rate in the first powerplay. The former Blackcaps captain went bonkers against England and hammered 77 off 25 balls at an astounding strike rate of 308.
118: Guptill’s swashbuckling resulted in New Zealand chasing the target of 117 runs in a mere 8.2 overs. With that, New Zealand scripted history by scoring the highest powerplay score in the 50-over format. New Zealand’s 118 runs are the joint-highest runs by a team in the first 10 overs.
9: During the 5th ODI against England in 2019, Chris Gayle’s power-hitting was on display while chasing the target of 114 runs. The Universe Boss made quick 77 runs in 27 balls, which included 9 towering sixes. This is the most sixes smashed by a batter in the first 10 overs in an ODI.
20: 4 batters on this list reached their fifties in less than 20 balls. Guptill and Kusal Perera achieved 50 of 17 balls, McCullum took 18 deliveries, and Gayle faced 19 balls.
2: Among the batters who scored 60+ runs in powerplay, 2 went on to convert their fiery starts into centuries. India’s captain Rohit Sharma hammered 131 against Afghanistan, and then Sri Lankan captain Upul Tharanga scored 119 runs against South Africa.
