Fastest 8000 Runs in ODI

In the ever-evolving world of competitive cricket, all three formats have undergone tremendous changes. In modern times, aggressive well-paced batting has gradually become the key to winning cricket matches. Be it T20 cricket which requires a batter to attack throughout the course of his innings or the slightly longer 50-over one-day international format strike rate is valued more in modern times. The sport has seen some great batters over the years having scored heaps of runs in the format across various conditions.

Players to score 8000 ODI Runs

Only 33 players have scored over 8000 runs in the 52-year rich history of one-day international cricket. Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar leads the charts with the most runs in the format, having scored 18426 runs. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara is the second in the list with more than 14234 ODI runs under his belt.

The list features more legendary names such as Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Mahela Jayawardene among others. Modern greats such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also feature in this list having scored over 13000 and 10000 runs for India in the format respectively. Both these batters also have the distinction of scoring more than 8000 runs at a distinctive batting position as well. Kohli achieved the record batting at number 3 with the current Indian skipper Sharma achieving the feat as an opener.

Virat Kohli – Fastest to 8000 ODI Runs

On 15th June 2017, playing against Bangladesh at Birmingham in the ICC Champions Trophy, Virat Kohli broke AB de Villiers’s record to become the fastest man to score 8000 runs in the format in terms of the least number of innings taken. AB de Villiers had achieved the feat on 26 August 2015 playing against New Zealand. It was de Villiers’s 182nd batting innings in the format, Kohli on the other hand broke the record by scoring his 8000th run in the 175th innings of his accomplished career. De Villiers’s compatriot Hashim Amla is right behind Kohli in the list, getting to the mark in 176 innings on 19th June 2019 in a World Cup clash versus New Zealand. Virat Kohli who took 8 years and 301 days to get to 8000 ODI runs is the fastest to reach 8000 runs in ODI in terms of time taken.

Virat Kohli, 175 innings

The former Indian skipper Virat Kohli is also the fastest batter to cross the 9000, 10000, 11000, 12000 and 13000 run mark in one-day international cricket. Making his debut in 2008, Kohli has risen through the ranks to become one of the greatest batters of this generation. 

He is behind Tendulkar and Sangakkara in the list of highest run scorers in one-day cricket. No one has scored more hundreds than his 50 tons in one-day internationals. Also known as the chase master, Kohli is known to finish games for his country and is a consistent performer in all three formats.

Hashim Amla, 176 innings

Former South African opener Hashim Amla made his Test debut in 2004 and played one-day internationals in 2008 after a long wait. Soon he became the batting mainstay of the South Africa lineup in all formats. 

With 8113 runs under his belt, Amla is the fastest batter to score 3000, 4000, 6000, and 7000 runs in ODIs. In 181 one-day internationals, he scored 8113 runs at an average of 49.46 hitting 27 centuries and 39 fifties. In 2019, Amla announced his international retirement after a successful 15-year career.

AB de Villiers, 182 innings

AB de Villiers is known as Mr. 360° due to his prowess in playing strokes all over the park. AB de Villiers made his one-day international debut as a wicket-keeper batter in 2005. Blessed with an ability to score at a quick pace, de Villiers has the record of scoring the fastest century in ODIs getting to three figures in just 31 balls against West Indies at Johannesburg in 2015. 

He hit 16 maximums that day which was also a record for the most sixes hit in an individual ODI innings which was later broken by Eoin Morgan four years later. He was also the team’s leading scorer at the 2015 World Cup but failed to take the team past the semifinals. In 2018, de Villiers announced his retirement after a successful career.

Sourav Ganguly, 200 innings

Hailed as the god on the offside, Sourav Ganguly is one of the best captains to take the field for India. Having scored over 11000 runs in ODIs with 72 half-centuries and 22 centuries, ‘Dada’ as he is fondly known, reached the 8000 run mark in his 200th ODI inning against West Indies in Nagpur in November 2002. 

He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 210 innings and his record remained untouched until de Villers made it his own in 2015. Having led the team in 147 ODIs, Ganguly played his last one-day in 2007 and is one of the finest left-handed batters the world has seen.