Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Best ODI Batsmen of 2014

With the ICC Cricket World Cup scheduled for 2015, all the teams were focussed on ODI cricket in 2014 so as to get their permutations and combinations sorted out for the mega event.

Below are the Top 5 Batsmen of 2014 who were at their very best all through the year.

1. Kumar Sangakkara - The Lankan run machine made telling contributions right through the year and was super consistent. Getting him out was nigh on impossible and he plundered 1256 runs in just 28 matches at an average of over 46 and a strike rate of nearly 90 runs per 100 balls! He capped off his stellar year with a ton at his home ground in Palekelle against England in what was his second last ODI match in Sri Lanka.

2. Angelo Mathews - The Sri Lankan captain led from the front all of 2014, he was the architect in chief of Sri Lanka's ODI success along with Sanga. Angelo was the Sri Lankan version of Superman as he scored runs, took wickets, captained his side to Asia Cup win, blanked England both home and away, beat Pakistan and Bangladesh in bilateral series! He scored 1244 runs in 32 matches at a strike rate of around 90 and an average of almost 63!

3. Virat Kohli - Virat had another superb year and he was one of the only the 3 batsmen who scored 1000 in the calender year. He scored 1054 runs in 21 matches at an average of 59 striking at nearly 100.

4. Tillakaratne Dilshan - Dilshan often appeared rusty but never seemed to be away from the runs. He always found a way to score and battled his way through most of the year. He also fielded like a 16 year old and was as alert as a panther in the point region. He fell just short of 1000 run milestone raking up 990 runs in 25 appearances at an impressive average of over 40 and a strike rate of over 85.


5. Hashim Amla - Amla had a solid 2014 and he continued to pile up the runs in the format that many said he would struggle in. He ended the year scoring 892 runs in mere 18 matches with an average of over 50 and a strike rate of over 80!

Special Mention

6. AB De Villiers - AB has to be one of the most complete cricket player in recent history and he continues to amaze spectators with his dazzling strokeplay all around the wicket. He plundered 879 runs in 2014 in just 16 matches at a staggering average of almost 75 while still maintaining a monstrous strike rate of almost 115 runs per 100 balls!

Name
Country
Matches
Runs
Average
Strike Rate
Kumar Sangakkara
Sri Lanka
28
1256
46
90
Angelo Mathews
Sri Lanka
32
1244
63
90
Virat Kohli
India
21
1054
59
100
Tillakratne Dilshan
Sri Lanka
25
990
40
85
Hashim Amla
South Africa
18
892
50
80
AB De Villiers
South Africa
16
879
75
115




Who was your favorite batsmen from 2014?

PS: We will look at the Top 5 Bowlers of 2014 in the next post!

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