When it comes to the ODI format of cricket, a player needs to have sound technical knowledge of the playing conditions. Someone who is well versed to play the new ball and the old ball. In the case of a batsman and a bowler, a sound knowledge of pitch conditions is also one of the major factors.
However, when it comes to a wicket-keeper batsman, that is an all-rounder job. Being a wicket-keeper in an ODI format requires stamina, athleticism, and quick decision-making power. When it comes to batting performances by an individual all the bookmakers in India give you fantastic odds to bet on.
Being a wicketkeeper-batsman. One needs to have the stamina and ability to make decisions throughout the game. The job becomes quite exhausting after a certain point in time. There was a time when the minimum criteria for a wicket-keeper to make it to the team was to keep the wickets.
However, things have completely changed now. At this day and point in life, a wicket-keeper needs to have sound batting skills as well.
Wicket-keepers with the highest score in the ODIs:
5) Adam Gilchrist (172 vs Zimbabwe)
Watching Adam Gilchrist hitting boundaries and playing technically sound shots on the ground was one of the most mesmerizing worlds of sports. There is no doubt that Gilchrist was the one who changed the outlook of a wicketkeeper and introduced the term wicketkeeper-batsman.
He was one of the ferocious batsmen of Australian cricket. In 2004, against Zimbabwe, Adam Gilchrist scored 172 runs in just 126 balls at Hobart. His innings included 13 fours and 3 sixes. The southpaw is known to be one of the greatest match-winners in Australian
4) Jaskaran Malhotra (173 vs Papua New Guinea)
A cricketer from the team United States of America has made it to the list purely because of his talent. Jaskaran Malhotra, a wicket-keeper batsman was born in Chandigarh and was a part of the India under-19 team. He couldn’t quite make it big in Indian cricket and shifted to the USA to pursue professional cricket.
Jaskaran made headlines by scoring 173 runs in 124 balls against Papua New Guinea in 2021.
3) Liton Das (176 vs Zimbabwe)
Bangladesh cricket has witnessed a sudden rise in the quality of cricket. There have been a few players who have turned out to be the match-winners keepers-batsman, Liton Das, is one of them.
He is comfortable sitting in the third position by scoring 176 runs against Zimbabwe in 2020. His knock helped Bangladesh post a massive 322-run total in the first innings. It proved too much for Zimbabwe, who got bowled out for 218 in the second innings.
2) Quinton de Kock (178 vs Australia)
Quinton de Kock is one of the greatest wicket-keeper batsmen the world has ever seen. The South African wicketkeeper-batsman has helped his team to reach new heights and has always been a crucial part of the team.
In 2016, Quinton played one of his best innings against Australia and announced his arrival in international cricket. During the first ODI, Australia scored 295 and it was now the turn of South Africa to chase the score. Quinton looked confident throughout the game and scored 178 runs in just 113 balls and helped his team to finish the game in 36.2 overs.
1) MS Dhoni (183 vs Sri Lanka)
Indian cricket is known to produce some of the most legendary cricketers in the world and MS Dhoni is one of them. The greatest captain and one of the greatest wicket keeper-batsman the sport has ever seen.
In 2005 against Sri Lanka, batting up the order, MS Dhoni destroyed the Sri Lankan bowling attack and scored 183 runs in 145 balls. He smacked 15 fours and 10 sixes during his innings and helped team India to score a win.
