New Delhi: The men in blue, have a mixed year in 2023, when it comes to the One Day Internationals, as they suffered a huge heartbreak, amidst a number of successful outings.
India started their ODI campaign in 2023, with back-to-back 3-0 clean sweeps, against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, followed by a 1-2, loss against Australia.
India came back on winning track and defeated the West Indies by 2-1, followed up by an Asia Cup victory and another 2-1 series win against the Aussies.
India’s biggest heartbreak came on November 19, when, despite winning 11 matches in a row to reach the 2023 ODI World Cup finals, they suffered a 6-wicket loss against the Aussies in the tournament decider, ending their hope of getting their first ICC trophy in almost a decade.
India finished the year with a 2-1 series win against the Proteas, ending their year with 28 wins, seven losses and one no result, in 36 ODI matches played by them in 2023.
Notably, the men in blue had some brilliant individual performances in 2023, as the top 3 highest run-getters in ODI in 2023, are from India.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 ODI run-getters for India in 2023, and recall their brilliant individual performances.
5] Shreyas Iyer (846 runs)
The right-handed batsman, despite suffering from injury for most part of the year, still managed to make it to the top 5 list, with a couple of brilliant performances.
Everyone doubted Shreyas Iyer and was sceptical about his addition to India’s Asia Cup and ODI World Cup squad.
However, Iyer, with his brilliant match-winning performances after his return, silenced his haters. Iyer amassed a total of 846 runs in 20 ODI matches in 2023, with a brilliant average of 52.87.
4] KL Rahul (1060 runs)
KL Rahul was another Indian player who suffered a lot from injury for most of the year, and just like Iyer, Rahul’s inclusion in the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup squad raised multiple eyebrows.
However, Rahul, just like Iyer, made his statement through his bat and played a number of match-winning knocks in the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup. Rahul was also the highest scorer for India in the ODI World Cup finals.
In 2023, with a brilliant average of 66.25, Rahul scored 1060 runs in 27 matches.
3] Rohit Sharma (1255 runs)
The Indian skipper enjoyed a successful calendar year in 2023, as he was the base of India’s success throughout the year.
Rohit adapted a new playing style in 2023, where he tried to maximize the most of the first powerplay, to allow the coming batmen some breathing space, before pacing their innings.
Rohit did the same in the 2023 World Cup finals. However, the team failed to capitalize on the momentum, and what could have been Rohit’s greatest year, became average once again.
Rohit in 2023, amassed a total of 1255 runs in 27 matches, with an impressive average of 52.29.
2] Virat Kohli (1377 runs)
The Indian batting maestro, after going through a rough patch from 2019 to 2022, started to regain his form in 2022.
Kohli continued his momentum in 2023, as he also became the highest runs scorer in the ODI World Cup 2023, breaking Sachin’s record. Kohli also became the first-ever batsman to score 50 ODI centuries in 2023.
Kohli amassed a total of 1377 runs in 27 matches in 2023, with an outrageous average of 72.47.
1] Shubman Gill (1584 runs)
The young Indian prodigy had a dream run in 2023, as he completely justified his nickname of, ‘The Prince,’ this year.
Shubman Gill failed to live up to his expectations in the World Cup, as he was the only Indian batsman in India’s top 5, who didn’t have a century during the tournament.
Despite that, Gill was the most successful ODI player of the year, with a total of 1584 runs under his belt in 29 matches, with an impressive average of 63.36.
