ODI Cricket: One of the most herculean feats in One Day cricket has always been to be a finisher. It isn’t easy to hang in there despite all the odds stacked against you and show Godly patience to win matches for your team or probably to stay in there until the final ball of the innings to propel a massive score for your team.
How exactly do we determine that who is a finisher? Probably the most defining trait of a finisher is to stay unbeaten until the end of the innings. We aren’t talking about one out of the thousand games in which a player shows some magical ability to stay unbeaten. We are talking about consistent games where players stay unbeaten until the end of most of the occasions. We will bring to you five Indian cricketers who boast of the highest number of not outs in ODI cricket.
MS Dhoni
Ideally touted as India’s best finisher, Dhoni has remained unbeaten for the highest number of times in One Day cricket with a staggering 83 times.
A hard-hitter of the ball, Dhoni has been absolutely phenomenal in all his performances and still is deemed as one of the best captains in Indian cricket.
Mohammad Azharuddin
One of the most elegant monikers in Indian cricket before being enmeshed in the match-fixing controversies, Azharuddin was probably one of the finest batsmen in India.
Chronicling an astonishing 54 not outs, Mohammad Azharuddin is second in this list. Had it not been for an abrupt end to his career, owing to the controversy of match-fixing, Azharuddin could have scaled unfathomable heights, adding on further to his list of remarkable exploits.
Anil Kumble
This name may sound absolutely incredulous in this list, given the current standards of cricket, where tail-enders hardly bat but with Indian cricket in its initial days of a resurgence, tail-enders had to provide considerable support to the batting line up.
Anil Kumble recorded 47 not outs in his career, thereby trumping over big names of batting.
Sachin Tendulkar
India’s greatest batsman ever, Sachin Tendulkar used to open the innings for most of the times, with his position mainly ranging within the top 3. Coming at such an early stage of the innings, it isn’t an easy feat to stay unbeaten till the end. However, if you are the Little Master, anything is possible. Tendulkar stayed unbeaten for 41 times in the limited version of the sport.
Rahul Dravid
Dravid’s patience is unparalleled to this day as his Test cricket heroics have made him an immortal. However, his One Day achievements have also been significant. Out of all the records held by the Wall, he also recorded 39 unbeaten innings in One Day cricket, notching him up a prestigious position in this list.
