Virat Kohli is hailed as the best limited-overs batsman not only because he scores runs, but for his ability to stay till the end and finish the matches for his team. Finishing is the most crucial job in limited-overs cricket and this is why teams give a lot of importance to their number 6 batsman, these days. Over the years, we have seen many great finishers in ODI cricket. From Michael Bevan to MS Dhoni, the game of cricket has witnessed some brilliant finishers. In this post, Umang Pabari lists the best finishers in ODI cricket, with their, runs, balls faced, average, strike rate and other relevant numbers.
| Player name | Country | Innings | Runs | Balls faced | Average | Strike rate | 100s | 50s | No. of ducks | Highest score |
| Virat Kohli | India | 91 | 4408 | 4771 | 61.22 | 92.39 | 15 | 22 | 4 | 183 |
| AB de Villiers | SA | 91 | 3812 | 4046 | 57.75 | 94.21 | 7 | 26 | 2 | 136* |
| Michael Bevan | Australia | 81 | 2882 | 4263 | 56.50 | 67.60 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 107 |
| Michael Clarke | Australia | 75 | 2696 | 3532 | 53.92 | 76.33 | 3 | 21 | 4 | 105* |
| Shane Watson | Australia | 63 | 2640 | 2909 | 52.80 | 90.75 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 185* |
| MS Dhoni | India | 117 | 3933 | 4727 | 51.07 | 83.20 | 2 | 27 | 4 | 183* |
| Matthew Hayden | Australia | 62 | 2450 | 3095 | 50.00 | 79.15 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 109 |
| Gordon Greenidge | West Indies | 73 | 2996 | 4621 | 49.11 | 64.83 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 133* |
| Sunil Gavaskar | India | 48 | 1905 | 3100 | 48.84 | 61.45 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 103* |
| Ashish Bagai | Canada | 32 | 1191 | 1646 | 47.64 | 72.35 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 137* |
| Hansie Cronje | South Africa | 77 | 2658 | 3530 | 47.46 | 75.29 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 98* |
| Peter Kirsten | South Africa | 21 | 739 | 1200 | 46.18 | 61.58 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 97 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 69 | 2331 | 3207 | 45.70 | 72.68 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 93* |
| Gautam Gambhir | India | 78 | 3093 | 3590 | 45.48 | 86.15 | 6 | 21 | 5 | 150* |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 43 | 1814 | 1978 | 45.35 | 91.70 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 126 |
Here’s the list of top 15 batsmen with best average in successful chases:
| Player name | Country | Innings | Runs | Balls faced | Average | Strike rate | 100s | 50s | No. of ducks | Highest score |
| MS Dhoni | India | 60 | 2327 | 2572 | 105.77 | 90.47 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 183* |
| Michael Bevan | Australia | 45 | 1725 | 2597 | 86.25 | 66.42 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 107 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 57 | 3275 | 3398 | 83.97 | 96.38 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 183 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 53 | 2363 | 2457 | 81.48 | 96.17 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 136* |
| Michael Hussey | Australia | 27 | 741 | 993 | 74.10 | 74.62 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 75* |
| Michael Clarke | Australia | 53 | 2142 | 2756 | 73.86 | 77.72 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 105* |
| Hansie Cronje | South Africa | 43 | 1682 | 2093 | 70.08 | 80.36 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 94 |
| Martin Crowe | New Zealand | 32 | 1470 | 1882 | 70.00 | 78.10 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 107* |
| Allan Border | Australia | 46 | 1815 | 2478 | 69.80 | 73.24 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 105* |
| Arjuna Ranatunga | Sri Lanka | 56 | 2007 | 2454 | 69.20 | 81.78 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 131* |
| Abdul Razzaq | Pakistan | 37 | 1033 | 1274 | 68.86 | 81.08 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 109* |
| Brian Lara | West Indies | 78 | 3498 | 4203 | 68.58 | 83.22 | 7 | 21 | 2 | 153 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 38 | 1359 | 1847 | 67.95 | 73.57 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 93* |
| Eoin Morgan | England/ Ireland | 36 | 1403 | 1492 | 66.80 | 94.03 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 124* |
| Damien Martyn | Australia | 47 | 1334 | 1764 | 66.70 | 75.62 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 92* |
[NOTE: (These lists contain players who have played more than 25 innings while chasing) (Numbers updated till 05-06-2016)]
By Umang Pabari
