Five cricketers who scored most international runs in a month
In cricket, the form is an elusive notion. While some batsmen like Don Bradman, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar batted for years without facing a bad patch, many stumbled after their first big knock. Nevertheless, we find plenty of batsmen who strike the purple patch for a few months.
Only a few of these cricketers made the optimum usage of their sterling streak and raised a mountain of runs. Here is the list of five batsmen who scored most international runs in a month’s time.
5. Sachin Tendulkar – 564 runs
The little batting wizard was at the peak of his skills in the year 1998. It was in this year that he scored the epic Test century (155*) against Australia at Chennai. In his birthday month, April, Sachin shifted to the top gear of his batting. The master blaster scored 564 runs in 10 ODIs played in the month of April ‘98. These include his magical twin centuries versus Australia in Sharjah.
4. Hamilton Masakadza – 595 runs
The Zimbabwean batsman had a dream run in October 2009. Masakadza began the month with a blazing knock of 156 against Kenya at Harare. He added another 133 runs in the next three matches. In the final match of the series, the right-hander notched his career-best score of 178 not out. He completed the golden run with an inning of 84 versus Bangladesh in an ODI. In total, Masakadza scored 595 runs in eight consecutive matches.
3. Ricky Ponting – 634 runs
Australia’s highest run-getter struggled in Indian conditions but exacted revenge when India toured Australia. In December 2003, Ponting was at his classiest. He started his run spree against the Indians with two half-centuries at Brisbane. The followed this up with an awesome knock of 242 at Adelaide and a magnificent inning of 257 at Melbourne. Ponting scored 634 Test runs in the month of December 2003.
2. Graham Gooch – 640 runs
England’s prolific run-scorer Graham Gooch began his Test career with a pair of ducks. He soon started accumulating runs at a rate of knots and topped the batting charts. In July 1990, Gooch scored 154 and 30 against New Zealand at Birmingham. He followed it up with his career-best 333 versus India at the Lord’s. In the same match, the Englishman added 123 in the second inning to finish the month with 640 runs.
1. Mohammad Yousuf – 665 runs
2006 was the year of Mohammad Yousuf. The Pakistani batting legend scaled new peaks and grabbed the record of most Test runs in a calendar year. He scored 1,788 runs in the single year. 665 of those were scored against visiting West Indies team in the month of November. In the home series, Yousuf registered the scores of 192, 56 and 191, 102 and 124. His tally of four centuries in a three-match series is a world record.
