New Delhi: Cricket’s most prestigious and awaited tournament, the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 has finally begun with a bang in India and fans from all across the world are buzzing about the same.
In its initial phase itself, the multinational tournament has already given the fans a number of breathtaking batting performances with as many as 12 centuries being scored in its first 10 matches.
Interestingly, 11 out of those Dozon marvelous centuries came with a blasting 100+ strike rate and the same indicates a huge change in the players’ approach while playing ODI cricket.
Explosive batting in ODI’s
It is the time of T20s and the emergence of this shortest format of the game has also affected players batting style in the bigger formats like tests and ODI. Although the 50-over-long format of the world’s second most popular game doesn’t allow the batsman to go all guns blazing and hit every second ball out of the park like T20’s, it also doesn’t entertain a slow and sluggish test-like knock at the same time.
In the One-day internationals, balance is always the key as the batsman are not only expected to ensure the safety of their wicket by spending more time on the field but also keep an eye on their run rate to get their team to a respectable score. However, irrespective of this, there are a number of batsman who are just unable to control their explosive instincts and are often seen entertaining fans with their aggressive batting style irrespective of the format.
With the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in its full swing, it’s a perfect time for us to have a quick glance at batsmen with the highest strike rate who can be an X-factor for their teams in the tournament.
5. David Miller ( South Africa)
South African cricketer David Miller, who is also nicknamed “Killer Miller” by the fans is undoubtedly one of the most expensive batsmen of the team in green and gold. Although the aggressive middle-order batsman has a strike rate of 103 in ODI Career, he has been batting with over 119 strike rate for the last couple of years and winning crucial matches for his team.
Additionally, Miller is one of the handful of batsmen who have constantly played with over 100+ strike rate from the last 4 years of their ODI career.
4. Hardik Pandya (India)
The only Indian batsman on this list and one of India’s finest finishers who is often compared with Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his cool and composted demeanor on the field, Hardik Pandya is undoubtedly the biggest power hitter of the men in Blue’s World Cup squad. The star batsman is known to bash the bowlers mercilessly with brute hitting force irrespective of the format and his impressive 109 strike rate in the ODIs is living proof of the same.
3. Heinrich Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen is lately on a batting rampage and his 3 monstrous IPL tons tell us the same story. With an amazing strike rate of 112, the South African batsman has dismantled the entire bowling lineup of the opposition team numerous times and won the game for his proteas team against all the odds.
During Australia’s recently concluded South Africa tour, Klaasen displayed sheer batting talent and showcased his caliber by smashing a historical knock of 174 runs off just 83 deliveries.
His brilliant knock not only helped the green and gold team to take the score at a towering total of 416 runs (50 overs) but also knocked the wind out of the mighty Australian team who later went on to lose the game with a huge margin of 164 runs and the five-match series with a margin of 3-2.
2. Jos Buttler (England)
The captain of the defending champion English team, Jos Butter is renowned for his exceptional capabilities with the bat. The World Cup winner has a wide range of cricketing shots in his arsenal which have allowed him to bash even the finest bowlers with ease and comfort. In the ODI format, Buttler has an amazing batting strike rate of 118 which Makes him the second most explosive batsman of this format.
Notably, Buttler’s strike rate goes further up to a whopping 126 while playing in the ICC World Cup and the same is good proof of him being a big-match player. In England’s warm-up game against subcontinent team Bangladesh, the English captain ripped the opposition apart by playing an electrifying cameo of 30 runs on just 15 balls with a strike rate of 200.
1. Glenn Maxwell (Australia)
Australia is currently at the bottom of the table and one guy that can turn things around for them is Glenn Maxwell. Although the ‘Big Show’ of cricket seemed out of touch suffering major setbacks owing to physical injuries in the past few months, he proved his might against Pakistan in Australia’s warm-up game played in Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on 3 October.
In the match, Maxwell batted in an overdrive and brutalized Pakistani bowlers with his aggressive knock of 77 off 71 balls. The T20 World Cup-winning power hitter is currently the best in business when it comes to storing runs at a fast pace and enjoys an excellent batting strike rate of 123 in ODI’s and 165+ in the ICC Cricket World Cups.
