Hi folks! We all have a fancy for statistics, don’t we? Don’t you constantly keep an eye on the ICC rankings to see whether our very own Virat is at the top of the pile among ODI batsmen, or whether Ravindra Jadeja is among the best all-rounders in the world? To satiate our hunger for these statistics, SPORTZWIKI presents to you an all-new section ‘STATS’ in which we would cover the most interesting stats in the cricketing world.
Today, we look at the Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st. Batting 1st is all about assessing the conditions and judging what an ideal score on th pitch would be. Each of the cricketers in this illustrious list are big-hitters in their own right and SPORTZWIKI takes a look at the captains who have led the onslaught on their opponents with the batting in the Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st category.
10. Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram was no pushover with the bat, his lusty blows through the mid-wicket region were well-documented. The former Pakistan skipper finds himself at the 10th place in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st with 28 sixes.
9. Brendon McCullum
Anyone who witnessed the undefeated 158 off 72 against RCB in the inaugral match of the Indian Premier League will testify to the fact that McCullum has the ability to make some of the best bowling line-ups look ordinary.
8. Imran Khan
The World Cup winning captain of Pakistan was a world-class allrounder, and still remains one of the best ever in the history of the sport. 35 sixes in 1st innings of ODI’s is a pretty impressive stat whichever way you look at it.
7. Brian Lara
Brian Lara was a pure to delight to watch. So consummately did Lara define the rules of engagement when bat meets ball that speaking of him in the same breath as his peers seems irrelevant. Lara is 7th in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st.
6. Hansie Cronje
Pity that Hansie Cronje’s involvement in the match-fixing scandal tends to take away from all the great cricket this man played for South Africa in times when the nation was still trying to establish itself as a superpower. Cronje comes in at 6th in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st with 41 sixes.
5. Sir Vivian Richards
Sir Vivian Richards – the name does say it all. Sir Viv was the greatest all-rounder of his generation, and was a key component of the West Indies side that lifted the first two World Cups.
4. Sanath Jayasuriya
The cleanest timer of the cricket ball one is ever likely to see, Jayasuriya was in a league of his own, his brand of strokeplay won admirers from around the globe. Simple, non-fussy, yet effective and destructive.
3. Sourav Ganguly
With 64 sixes to his name, Sourav “Dada” Ganguly is at the 3rd spot in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st. Sourav was known for his uninhibited strokes through the off-side and the big heaves through the on-side, particularly against the left arm spinners.
2. MS Dhoni
Not only can MS Dhoni wreak havoc on any opponent while chasing, he can do it while batting 1st too. With that helicopter shot in his armoury, no other batsman in world cricket at the moment can boast of the consistency and big-hitting that MS Dhoni has delivered in recent times.
1. Ricky Ponting
Out of the 99 sixes Ricky Ponting has smashed throughout his ODI career in the 1st innings, quite a handful of them must be in those two WC finals when Australia took both India and Sri Lanka to the cleaners. Hats off Ricky Ponting, 1st spot in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 10 ODI captains to hit maximum sixes while batting 1st.