Rohit Sharma's centuries, Tendulkar's runs: Notable ICC World Cup records
The year 2023 is dedicated to One Day Internationals, with the ICC Cricket World Cup months away. As has been the case, the iconic tournament will see plenty of records being scripted. From Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to Hitman Rohit Sharma, several batting legends went on to make it a spectacle with their blade. Here are the notable batting records in the 50-over tournament.
Only player with over 2,000 WC runs
Tendulkar, the owner of 18,426 ODI runs (highest of all-time), slammed 2,278 of these in the ODI World Cup. He remains the only player to have scored over 2,000 runs in the tournament. In fact, only two other batters have smashed more than 1,500 WC runs. Australia's Ricky Ponting (1,743) and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (1,532) are behind Tendulkar in terms of WC runs.
Who has the most WC centuries?
Until the 2019 World Cup, Tendulkar held the record for the most World Cup centuries. He smashed as many as six centuries across six editions (1992-2011). However, Rohit, during the 2019 WC, smashed five tons to equal Tendulkar. The former struck one in the preceding edition (2015). Besides, Rohit now has the most centuries in a single WC edition (5).
Only batter with over 1,500 WC runs in winning cause
Tendulkar is the only player to have scored over 1,500 World Cup runs in winning cause (1,516). Ponting trails Tendulkar, with 1,342 runs. The former averages an astronomical 65.91 in WC games won, while three of his tons came in this regard.
Four successive tons in World Cup
During the 2015 ODI World Cup, Sri Lanka's Sangakkara slammed centuries in four consecutive matches. His scores read 105* (vs BAN), 117*(vs ENG), 104 (vs AUS), and 124 (vs SCO). He is the only cricketer to have whacked four back-to-back hundreds in an ODI World Cup. Indian batter Rohit came close to this record by hammering three successive tons in the 2019 World Cup.
6 sixes in an over in World Cup
In 2007, South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs took the cricketing world by storm as he struck 6 sixes in an over. Gibbs struck Netherlands' Daan van Bunge during the 2007 World Cup. Indian batter Yuvraj Singh replicated this months later in the inaugural World T20 edition. However, Gibbs remains the only batter to have smashed 6 maximums in an over in ODI WCs.
Highest individual score in the tournament
Only two double-centuries have been recorded in the ODI World Cup, with both of them coming days apart in the 2015 edition. On February 2015, Universe Boss Chris Gayle became the first-ever double-centurion in the tournament, having smacked 215 against Zimbabwe. Next month, New Zealand's Martin Guptill surpassed this score with a 237*-run knock against West Indies. This remains the highest individual WC score.
A look at other notable records
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien holds the record for scoring the fastest century (50 balls) in the 50-over tournament. His 63-ball 113 helped Ireland upset England in the 2011 WC. WI's Gayle has struck 49 World Cup sixes, the most by a batter. Former England captain Eoin Morgan hammered 17 sixes against Afghanistan in 2019, the most in a single WC match by a batter.
