The ICC on Thursday released the list of players with the highest strike rates in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023.
Currently, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are playing their final league match and the 41st game of the tournament while the other eight teams have played eight matches each.
The International Cricket Council has taken into consideration the data from the first 40 matches of the World Cup and players who have faced a minimum of 200 balls.
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell is leading the chart with a strike rate of 152.69. The explosive middle-order batter has scored 397 runs in seven innings at an average of 79.40. He has played two blinders in the tournament so far.
Maxwell conjured up magic when Australia thought it was all over, striking an astonishing double century to singlehandedly lift his team into the semifinals of the World Cup with a three-wicket win over Afghanistan in Mumbai on Tuesday.
With his unbeaten 201 off 128 balls, which came on the back of some unbelievable hitting, Maxwell forced the thousands of heads totting the stands at the Wankhede Stadium to think if their eyes were deceiving them.
As Australia chased down 292 after slumping to 91 for seven in 18.3 overs and staring at an annihilation, everyone rubbed their eyes in disbelief as Maxwell went about his task batting on one leg after battling pain and exhaustion.
Afghanistan thought they had the match wrapped up, but Maxwell had other ideas. With some slice of luck, he launched into an over-eager Afghan attack, smashing 21 fours and 10 sixes to end the game in 46.5 overs. His strike rate was 157.03.
Earlier in the tournament, he struck the fastest century of the World Cup against the Netherlands.
Maxwell (106 off 44) blew away the Dutch attack to score his century off just 40 balls, bettering the record of South Africa’s Aiden Markram, who had smashed 106 off 49 balls against Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on October 7. Maxwell hit nine fours and eight sixes during his whirlwind knock at a strike rate of 240.91.
The second player on the list is South Africa’s Heinrich Klassen. The middle order batter has scored 316 runs in eight innings strike at a rate of 144.29. He is South Africa’s fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament so far.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is third on the list with a strike rate of 122.77. The opening batter is the fifth-highest run scorer in the World Cup so far with 442 runs in eight innings. He has been averaging 55.25. Sharma also broke the record for the most sixes in international cricket during India’s match against Afghanistan earlier in the tournament.
Here are the top 10 players with the highest strike rates in the ODI World Cup 2023 after match no. 40 between England and the Netherlands.