The current ICC men’s ODI World Cup 2023 has reached its second last week of the group stages, following an exciting fourth week of the 2023 World Cup.
With 32 games finished, squads are now hoping to build up wins to up their odds of progressing to the next stage.
England and Sri Lanka kicked off week four in the 2023 World Cup. Despite expectations, Sri Lanka emerged victorious. The week ended on a dominating note as South Africa gave New Zealand a crushing loss of 190 runs in Pune.
Once again, centuries continued to pile up in the event, with four individuals scoring above 100 in the preceding seven days.
The pitches in India have mainly been favorable to batters, with the 10 teams scoring 3,773 runs at a rate of 5.48 over the last week.
On that point, here are the top five batting performances from Week 4 of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
5. 81 off 74 – Fakhar Zaman vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
Fakhar Zaman struck a match-winning 81 against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, after failing to score more than 35 runs in his previous 11 innings.
Pakistan needed an inspired performance after four straight defeats, and their bowlers delivered by bundling out Bangladesh for 204 in the first innings.
The Pakistani openers brought their A-game in the run chase, with Fakhar and Abdullah Shafique putting the game to bed with a 128-run opening stand. Both batsman produced some magnificent cricket shots to reach their respective fifties.
Fakhar, in particular, was all about sixes as he dominated the mid-wicket region. Despite being rested for the previous five games, the left-hander batted with authority and demonstrated why he is a valuable asset to Pakistan.
Zaman finished with 81 runs off 74 balls and three fours as Pakistan comfortably knocked down the mark in 32.3 overs.
4. 133 off 118 – Rassie van der Dussen vs New Zealand in Pune
Bat first, score several hundreds, build up a massive first-innings total, and win by a wide margin–this has been South Africa’s pattern in the present World Cup.
Everything went according to plan for the Proteas in their last match against New Zealand in Pune. After being thrown in to bat first, their top-order controlled the show with centuries from Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen.
Rassie battled to get the time right from the outset, but De Kock cruised to 114 off 116. He was batting at 53 off 73 balls at one stage and was anxious to get runs soon. Rassie had to go all out with some genuine big-hitters waiting in the locker room.
Fortunately for him, the 34-year-old turned his rough fifty into a huge one and finished with a fantastic score of 133 off 118. Rassie’s knock, which included nine boundaries and five sixes, helped South Africa post 357/4.
The Proteas bowled well as a team to restrict the Kiwis to 167 and secure their largest ODI victory over them.
3. 116 off 89 – Rachin Ravindra vs Australia in Dharamsala
Rachin Ravindra is the 2023 World Cup second-highest run-getter, with 415 runs at an average of 69.17. The teenage New Zealand prodigy has undoubtedly been the tournament’s standout, having taken on the burden of scoring big runs for his team.
So far, the left-hander has two hundreds, both against heavyweights such as England and Australia. While his maiden ODI World Cup century was memorable, his 116 against Australia nearly enabled New Zealand to pull off a miracle.
Ravindra batted at No. 3 while chasing 389 and kept his wicket intact for a long time. The 23-year-old looked assured and moved the Black Caps closer to the goal. Ravindra hammered five sixes and nine boundaries despite occasionally going the aerial approach.
A club needs two hitters to go big while chasing totals around 400. While Ravindra tried his hardest to reach 116, no other Kiwi batsman achieved more than 60.
He was knocked out in the 41st over by Pat Cummins. Despite James Neesham’s late blitz of 58 from 39 balls, New Zealand felt five runs short of the objective.
2. 87 off 101 – Rohit Sharma vs England in Lucknow
While Rohit Sharma has nearly 400 runs in the 2023 World Cup, his 87 are likely the most meaningful. Despite his hard-hitting skills and elegant strokeplay, the Indian captain put in a good batting effort and demonstrated why he is regarded as one of the modern-day greats.
India got off to a shaky start when England requested them to bat first in Lucknow. With the surface causing havoc, India lost all three of Shubman Gill (9), Virat Kohli (0), and Shreyas Iyer (4) within 12 overs.
On a two-paced surface with tricky stroke-making, Rohit scored at a reasonable rate and refused to let the English spinners dictate the terms. During his stay, he hammered teboundaries and three sixes by using his feet to offset the spin and seam off the deck.
The 36-year-old batted for over 37 overs, scoring 87 runs off 101 balls. It was amazing to watch how quickly Rohit acclimated to the circumstances. Suryakumar Yadav too batted well, scoring 49 to help India reach 229/9 in 50 overs.
The Indian speed combo of Jasprit Bumrah (3/32) and Mohammed Shami (4/22) created havoc in the second innings, dismissing England for 129 in 34.5 overs.
1. 109 off 67 – Travis Head vs New Zealand in Dharamsala
Travis Head made his comeback against New Zealand in 2023 World Cup over ten days after hitting tennis balls in a net practice.
Head, making his ODI World Cup debut after recovering from a shattered hand, crushed the third delivery he faced for a four over mid-on. It was the beginning of something remarkable, as Head and David Warner got Australia off to an incredible start. The two left-handers left no room for error for the New Zealand bowlers, smashing 175 runs in only 19 overs.
Head’s onslaught on New Zealand’s errant bowling was highly devastating, hammering the Kiwi bowlers for fun. The southpaw reached his half-century in only 25 balls, which is tied for the quickest in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
He got a handful more reps before smashing his maiden ODI World Cup century in 59 balls, the third fastest by an Australian in the quadrennial competition.
Head might easily have scored a big hundred with the manner he was batting, but he was clean bowled by Glenn Phillips.
Regardless, his ferocious knock proved to be a reason why other teams should be concerned about erring in line against him.
