Most runs in ODI in bilateral matches in history

Many cricketers come and go but there are only a few who leaves a permanent mark with their presence in the team. Be it with bat or ball, playing well consistently and impacting the winning of the team is a great accomplishment. There are some legendary batters who proved or continue to prove their gravity in the team every time they step on the ground. Let's take a look at the most runs in ODI in bilateral matches in history.

1. Virat Kohli

This prestigious list of some of the greatest batters starts with none other than Virat Kohli. Kohli smashed all the records and became the fastest cricketer to 6000, 7000, 8000, and 9000 ODI runs. One of his most memorable and extraordinary performances in an ODI bilateral series is against South Africa 2017-18. In the 6-match series, the former captain smashed 558 runs with an average of 186 and a strike rate of 99.46. The former captain is the only active cricketer on this list. He scored the most runs in ODI in bilateral matches by scoring 9078 runs till now including 35 centuries with an average of 62.17. Starting from 2008 his highest score in ODI bilateral series is 160* that came against South Africa.

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2. MS Dhoni

The second-highest run-scorer in ODI bilateral matches is the former Indian captain MS Dhoni. With an average of 53.25, he aggregated 7669 runs in 233 matches from the time period of 2004 to 2019. The former captain hit his highest ODI bilateral score of 183* against Australia. Also, he smashed 8 tons during this period.

3. AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers took 182 ODI bilateral matches to score the third-most runs in ODI in bilateral matches. The former South African player aggregated 7636 runs including 20 centuries with an average of 54.15. During a span of 2005-2018, he scored his highest ODI bilateral runs of 176 against Bangladesh.

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4. Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara sits in the fourth position on this prestigious list with 7331 ODI bilateral runs. He played in 208 bilateral ODI matches from 2000 to 2015 and aggregated the above-mentioned runs with the highest score being 169. He smashed the total runs with an average of 41.18 and his highest score came against South Africa.

5. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar sitting on this list is by no means a surprise. Tendulkar played a total of 200 bilateral ODI matches and aggregated for a total of 7215 runs. With an average of 40.30, he scored the fifth-highest ODI bilateral runs. Also, his highest score in bilateral ODI matches is 200* and he scored it against South Africa. Among all the opponent countries, his highest batting average came against West Indies where he played 15 matches and scored 656 runs with the highest score being 105.