ICC World events are the pinnacle of this wonderful, and its knockout games have the highest pressure for everyone associated with it. But some players have made the big stage their own producing some breathtaking individual performances and helping their respective side sail over the finish line. Hence most of the ICC knockouts (Quarterfinals, Semifinal, and Final) invariably give us some coming-of-age performers.
Some players like to perform under pressure and consistently do so. In this article, we will talk about the batters who have accumulated the most runs across all formats in the knockout stages of an ICC event.
Most Runs in ICC Knockout Matches
| Player | Inns | Total Runs | ODI WC | T20 WC | CT | WTC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 23 | 1023 | 244 | 373 | 286 | 120 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 22 | 808 | 266 | 227 | 193 | 122 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 18 | 731 | 442 | – | 289 | – |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 14 | 657 | 339 | – | 318 | – |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 15 | 648 | 277 | 168 | 102 | 101 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 18 | 595 | 258 | 173 | 164 | – |
| Steven Smith (AUS) | 12 | 584 | 345 | 11 | 73 | 155 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 11 | 539 | 59.88 | 64 | 370 | – |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 8 | 514 | 105 | – | 379 | – |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 18 | 499 | 247 | 112 | 140 | – |
More “ICC Tournaments” Records
Most Runs as Captain in ICC Tournaments
Most Runs in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Highest Batting Average in ICC Tournaments
Most Fifties in ICC Tournaments
Most Fifties in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Most Centuries in ICC Tournaments
Most Centuries in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Most Wickets in ICC Tournaments
Most Wickets in in Knock-Out Matches of ICC Tournaments
Most Man of the Match Awards in ICC
Most Wins by Players in ICC Tournaments
Key Stats
31 players have scored a century in an ICC Knockout game across all three formats. While Ganguly, Ponting, and Saeed Anwar have made three centuries each in such matches, five other batters have scored more than one century in an ICC tournament knockout.
Virat Kohli of India scored the most fifty-plus scores (9) in an ICC Knockout game. However, he converted only one into a century and this was in the semifinal of the ICC World Cup 2023 against New Zealand
The former India skipper also has the most number of runs in the ICC Knockout game (939) across the different formats of the game. He averaged a whopping 52.16 in 22 innings.
Another former India skipper Sourav Ganguly’s batting average in an ICC Knockout game was 85.66. This is the best average for a batter with more than 500 runs in this type of game, but it is not the best average. Grant Elliot had an average of 135.00 (270 runs), Saeed Anwar’s 128.33 (385 runs), and Fakhar Zaman’s 113.00 (226 runs).
Only two batters have scored 150 or more in an inning in an ICC Knockout game. The highest score was by Martin Guptill who made an unbeaten 237 against West Indies in the Quarter Final game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2025 and the other was Travis Head’s 163 versus India in the ICC World Test Championship in 2023.
Check: Countries that Hosted Most Test Matches
