Finishing a match and chasing a target are two different things. The prime examples are India’s two most celebrated players in modern-day cricket: Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. These two batsmen rule most chasing records in ODI cricket.
MS Dhoni is a modern-day legend in planning out a finish, and Virat, on the other hand, is slowly mastering the field of chasing in cricket in his style. Eventually, India became the bigger chasing team during their period.
In this article, we will have answers to these following questions:
Who is the best finisher in ODI cricket? Who holds the maximum batting records while chasing?
Who will break Sachin’s tally of runs while chasing in ODI?
Virat Kohli vs. MS Dhoni vs. Ab De Villiers – Chasing Records in ODI.
Before knowing that, let’s dig into the difference between chasing and finishing in ODIs.
Chasing vs Finishing
Finishing a Game is more like taking up the responsibility. It is all about planning out the chase, keeping balls and runs required in mind (Looks so simple in words, right?). When MS Dhoni retired from Cricket, India were having a huge spot to fill. He had been the Finisher for the Indian cricket team for more than ten years. With him out of action now, the question of “Does India miss MS Dhoni?” is across everyone’s mind now.
When chasing a target, it starts right from the start of the game’s 2nd Innings. Virat has been doing this consistently in every match India chases, and he is doing it like a born Master in it. He hardly fails in chasing and makes batting look easy when he has a target in mind.
Virat Kohli has already been topping the maximum chasing records in ODI & T20 batting. Virat has scored 26 centuries in ODI run chases (The Record for the Most Hundreds in ODI while chasing) to 21 while batting first. This shows how good he is at chasing and is rightly called The Chase Master.
If I remember correctly, it all started in Hobart against Sri Lanka, when India had to chase Sri Lanka’s 320 under 40 Overs. Virat Kohli’s century that day helped India win that match in just 36.4 Overs. It will help if you read the Story of Virat’s 133 in Hobart. It all started there. Sourav Ganguly claimed that was the best ODI innings he had seen in years!
Virat Kohli’s average while chasing in ODI stands around a whopping 65+, which is the highest average in ODI while chasing batters who have played more than 50 Innings.
MS Dhoni holds the record of the ‘Most number of Not Outs in ODI while Chasing.’ Let’s look into more detail, of course, with more numbers.
Most Runs in ODI while Chasing
| BATSMEN | INNINGS | RUNS | AVERAGE | 100s | BEST | NO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Tendulkar | 232 | 8720 | 42.33 | 17 | 175 | 26 |
| V Kohli | 155 | 7852 | 64.36 | 27 | 183 | 33 |
| R Sharma | 146 | 5905 | 50.04 | 15 | 152* | 28 |
| S Jayasuriya | 210 | 5742 | 29.44 | 10 | 152 | 15 |
| J Kallis | 158 | 5575 | 44.95 | 5 | 139 | 34 |
| C Gayle | 152 | 5559 | 39.99 | 12 | 162 | 13 |
| B Lara | 157 | 5425 | 42.71 | 9 | 153 | 30 |
| K Sangakkara | 161 | 5400 | 40.29 | 7 | 134* | 27 |
| S Ganguly | 148 | 5231 | 39.33 | 7 | 135* | 15 |
| M Jayawardene | 176 | 5150 | 35.033 | 6 | 126* | 29 |
Key Stats
It is so transparent how good Virat Kohli is, when it comes to chasing in ODI.
He is now at the 2nd place in the ‘Most Runs in ODI Chases.‘
The matches he took to get past 5000 ODI runs while chasing is at-least 50 innings less than the Top 5 in the list. He is expected to beat more and more records in chasing in the coming days.
Virat Kohli is the only player in ODI history to have more runs in chases than when he bats first, among the players who have more than 5000 ODI runs.
The Indian captain also holds the record for the most centuries while batting second or we could just say, he is the Master of Chases.
Fakhar Zaman, the Pakistani opener’s 193 against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2021 is the highest score by any batter in a ODI run chase.
If you look at the other legendary names in the chart behind Virat and the difference in the innings with what he has outperformed them, you will know how incredible he has been in this particular format.
Highest Average in ODI while Chasing
| PLAYERS | INNINGS | AVERAGE | RUNS | NOT OUTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 155 | 64.36 | 7852 | 33 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 103 | 56.81 | 4204 | 29 |
| Michael Bevan (AUS) | 81 | 56.50 | 2882 | 30 |
| Michael Clarke (AUS) | 75 | 53.92 | 2696 | 25 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 60 | 53.14 | 2604 | 11 |
| Shane Watson (AUS) | 63 | 52.80 | 2640 | 13 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 76 | 51.91 | 2959 | 19 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 145 | 51.04 | 4849 | 50 |
| Shai Hope (WI) | 61 | 50.75 | 2487 | 12 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 146 | 50.04 | 5905 | 28 |
[Note: This ranking was made with the players who have at least scored 2000 runs while batting second.]
Key Stats
This time, Virat tops the list for the highest batting average while chasing in ODI. Virat Kohli is the only player to score more than 5000 runs while chasing with a batting rate of more than 50.
Following him are the modern-day greats: ABD, Michael Bevan, and Michael Clarke. Only 9 players with 50+ ODI innings currently have their average in run chases above 50.
Let us find out who has the better average in successful chases.
HIighest Average in ODI in Successful Chases
| BATSMEN | INNS | AVERAGE | RUNS | NOT OUTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni | 75 | 102.71 | 2876 | 47 |
| Virat Kohli | 96 | 90.40 | 5786 | 32 |
| Joe Root | 43 | 83.56 | 2089 | 18 |
| AB de Villiers | 59 | 82.77 | 2566 | 28 |
| Michael Clarke | 53 | 73.86 | 2142 | 24 |
Key Stats
It is a tight fight between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli for the tag of ‘Highest Batting Average in ODI Cricket while Chasing Successfully.‘
Michael Bevan of Australia closely misses this list. He has played 45 innings and scored 1725 runs in successful run chases at an average of 86.25 with staying not-outs 25 times.
Having an average of around 100 after 70 innings is an unbelievable stat by MSD. Don’t forget MSD also bears the responsibility of being a wicketkeeper in all three formats he played in his career, while captaining the side.
Most Centuries in ODI while Chasing
| BATSMEN | 100s | 50s | BEST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 27 | 39 | 183 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 17 | 52 | 175 |
| Rohit Sharma | 15 | 35 | 152* |
| Chris Gayle | 12 | 34 | 133* |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | 11 | 15 | 160 |
| Saeed Anwar | 10 | 20 | 131 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 10 | 30 | 152 |
| Martin Guptill | 9 | 18 | 180* |
| Brian Lara | 9 | 28 | 153 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 8 | 19 | 132* |
Key Stats
The chase master is at it again, beating The Master of the Centuries, Sachin Tendulkar(17).
Virat Kohli also tops the chart for ‘Most Centuries in ODI in successful chases‘. Kohli’s conversion rate is the best among all batsmen who’ve scored at least five second-innings hundreds.
Virat Kohli is the only player with more ODI centuries while chasing than when he bats first, among the players with more than 10 ODI centuries while batting second.
Rohit Sharma is the only other player to be on the list among the current day cricketers.
Most Not-Outs While Chasing in ODI
| Player | Not-Outs | Chasing Innings | High Score in 2nd Inns | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 50 | 145 | 183* | 51.04 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin (IND) | 37 | 157 | 111* | 37.24 |
| Jonty Rhodes (SA) | 35 | 105 | 75* | 36.05 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq (Asia/PAK) | 34 | 151 | 122 | 40.99 |
| Jacques Kallis (ICC/SA) | 34 | 158 | 139 | 44.95 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 33 | 155 | 183 | 64.36 |
| Shaun Pollock (Afr/ICC/SA) | 33 | 91 | 130 | 29.56 |
| Arjuna Ranatunga (SL) | 33 | 143 | 131* | 34.89 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) | 32 | 119 | 102* | 34.00 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 32 | 153 | 126 | 41.93 |
Key Stats
Mr. Unbeaten, MS Dhoni, who holds the record for ‘Most Not Outs in ODI,’ also holds the record for ‘Most Not Outs while batting Second.’
Almost 90% of matches Dhoni had stayed not out, India ended up winning. You can look into every single cricket record the Indian captain holds here in our MSD special blog.
Among the current cricketers who have not retired yet, Suresh Raina comes next with 28 not-out innings, followed by Bangladesh duo – Mushfiqur Rahim (26) and Shakib Al Hasan (24).
Source: Cricinfo
The Wrap
When it comes to chasing, three players keep hold of maximum batting records while chasing. Virat, Dhoni, and ABD. With the latter two already having left the scene, it is the onus on Virat to rule all these charts and set a new benchmark.
We have already discussed how many total centuries Virat Kohli will score before he retires.
Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, also holds the record for Most Runs in T20 while Chasing. Virat has the ‘innings per hundred’ rate of 5.58, which is the best by miles.
Virat Kohli scored 63.33% of his ODI centuries while chasing – the best by miles.
You should check Virat Kohli’s career graph to understand how he has grown over the years!
It is obvious that Virat Kohli is reaching Sachin’s records, which were termed to be UNBEATABLE once, with such an extraordinary pace. Records are meant to be broken and I hope Kohli creates a new set of them for the next generation of cricketers to break.
