Top 10 finishers of all time in white-ball cricket

Cricket is a very unique game. For, no game tests your versatility as it does. When it comes to batting, each and every position throws up a different challenge to batsmen. While in Test cricket, batting at the top of the order against a new ball in swinging conditions, is probably one of the hardest challenges, the reverse is true for white-ball cricket where the most difficult place to bat, has got to be the backend of an innings. One needs specific skills to relish in the role of a ‘finisher’, whose job involves taking stock of the situation and adjusting his/her game as per the demands. Not many people can do that, which is why these select groups of individuals in the below-mentioned list occupy a special place in the uppermost echelon of white-ball batsmanship. Here’s a look: 10. Javed Miandad Javed Miandad. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) He was an epitome of what you would call a quintessential street fighter. Wasn’t he? In an ever chaotic world of Pakistan cricket, Miandad- courtesy his street-smartness-, Miandad- courtesy his steely mindset and street-smartness- bright a sense of calm, every time the Men in Green found themselves in a usual position of bottling a run-chase. Miandad was a clam among the storm; a lion-hearted batsman, who always thrived when the chips were down. And, the numbers vindicate that too. In 47 successful run-chases that Pakistan achieved during Miandad’s career, the right-hander was at the helm of most of them, scoring 1403 runs at an average of 61.00 which also included 11 half-centuries and one three-figure score. That hundred- as many of you would have guessed it right- came in the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final against India in Sharjah, where he stroked a last-ball six off Chetan Sharma to etch his name in the uppermost echelons of Indo-Pak rivalry. 9. Ajay Jadeja India’s Ajay Jadeja batting. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images) Ajay Jadeja’s career may not have ended on a right note but before all of that happened, for Indian fans of the 1990s, the right-hander meant two things: a gun fielder and a marauder of a cricket ball at the backend of Indian innings. Who can forget his epic 119 [off 121 balls] in a 1997 One-day International against Sri Lanka, where he, along with Mohammad Azharuddin [111 off 117 balls], took India to the brink of a miraculous win, after the failure of the top-order had reduced them to 4-64 in a run-chase of 302? Or his whirlwind 61 off 44 balls against New Zealand back in 1995? There is a decent chance that you may have forgotten those innings or were probably too young to remember them, but if there are one Jadeja innings which in the immortal, it has got to be his assault on Waqar Younis, where he racked up 45 in a mere 25 deliveries to propel India’s target to unscalable heights in the 1996 Quarter-Final at the Chinnaswamy. Overall, in 38 successful run-chases that India affected during Jadeja’s career, the right-hander racked up 662 runs at an average of 47.28 with the help of four half-centuries. 8. Jos Buttler Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Twitter) Jos Buttler is one of those rare breeds of players, who is equally brilliant when it comes to opening the innings or doing the finishing job at the backend. There is a lot of debate in English cricket right now, as to where Buttler should bat in the T20I side. England followed the template that Rajasthan Royals used in the 2018 edition of the IPL, where they elevated the swashbuckling right-hander to the top of the order. Buttler hammered a truckload of runs and England followed suit by making him open in their T20I side, as opposed to his role as a finisher in the longer format of white-ball cricket. But, with England not having an able finishing option of the quality of Buttler, it could be prudent for them to use him in that position during the T20 World Cup. In the 42 ODI games that England have won during Buttler’s career while chasing, the right-hander has 666 runs at an average of 60.54 and a strike-rate of 113.07 with the help of four half-centuries and a hundred. 7. Andre Russell Andre Russell. (Photo Source: Twitter) Deep in his crease, stable base, mobile hips and raw power- This is how Andre Russell is revolutionizing power-hitting in T20 cricket in the current era. Russell is one of those rare breeds of cricketers who channelize his inner beast picks crunch situations and he testified that to the hilt during the 2019 edition of the IPL where he shellacked RCB to the tune of 48 off just 18 balls to help KKR pull-off an improbable run-chase. Russell showed his precocious skills and testified just why he is one of the most batsmen at the death overs in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka where he racked up a whirlwind 40* off 14 balls- an innings which included six sixes- to help the West Indies pull off the run-chase of 156 in a mere 17 overs. Needless to say, Dre Russ is one of the best going around these days. 6. Suresh Raina Suresh Raina. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) Suresh Raina probably played two of the most important innings by an Indian in their history of ODI cricket, and it would have been a real shame, had I not included him in this list. While he played a perfect second fiddle to a rampaging Yuvraj Singh courtesy his 28-ball 34 in the quarter-finals of the 2011 WC against Australia, the 39-ball 36 against Pakistan was a knock where he anchored a sinking ship and propelled his side to an eventual match-winning total. Overall, in 64 successful run-chases that India have affected in 50-over cricket, Raina has played a huge role in that by scoring 1532 runs in 47 innings at an average of 69.63 with the help of nine fifties and two hundred, one of which came in the 2015 World Cup game against Zimbabwe (110 off 104 balls) where he along with MS Dhoni (85* off 76 balls) took India past the finishing line after they’d been reduced to 4-92 during their pursuit of 288. 5. Michael Hussey Michael Hussey. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images) “Is there anything this man can’t do?” asked a bewildered Harsha Bhogle as Michael Hussey sliced Saeed Ajmal for a boundary over a point to bring up his 2nd T20I half-century in the semi-final of the 2010 World Cup against Pakistan. Hussey was in the midst of probably his greatest white-ball innings. Needing 18 off the last six balls, the southpaw had stroked Ajmal for back-to-back sixes and when he did the encore of it on the fourth delivery, it had not only left the Pakistanis but the entire folklore shellshocked. Hussey had pulled off an improbable heist, something he did on a frequent basis in white-ball cricket for Australia. In 50 successful run-chases in ODI cricket during Hussey’s career, the southpaw racked up 711 runs in 26 innings at an average of 71.10 with the help of four half-centuries. 4. Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Twitter) No list of finishers can ever be completed without the mention of Yuvraj Singh. In a frenetic, chaotic world of white-ball cricket, Yuvraj was India’s sense-of-calm, whenever they found themselves in a precarious situation whether it came to setting up a target or overhauling it. His maiden half-century against Australia in the 2000 ICC Knockout after they’d been reduced to 3-70 was the earliest indication of Yuvi’s steely grit and ‘tough-as-nails’ character as he took India to a match-winning score. And, then over the course of the next 11 years, Singh would play many such innings that would place in the topmost echelon of finishers in white-ball cricket. His half-century in the Natwest 2002 final and multiple partnerships with the likes of Mohammad Kaif, Rahul Dravid (against Pakistan in the 2003 WC), MS Dhoni (on the trip to Pakistan in 2006) or his epic knock against Australia in the 2011 World Cup quarter-finals where he propelled the Men in Blue to a victory from a precarious position or his 30-ball 70 in the 2007 T20 WC semi-finals are some of the many many examples of Yuvraj’s contribution as a finisher. Overall, in successful ODI run-chases, Yuvraj Singh has scored the most number of runs when it comes to middle-order batsmen. In 90 such run-chases, Yuvi racked up 2580 runs at an average of 52.65 with the help of 21 half-centuries and one hundred. 3. Lance Klusener Lance Klusener. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) The modern-day trailblazer, who revolutionized the art of power hitting at the backend of an ODI inning, Lance Klusener was way ahead of his time. And, we got to see that at its hilt during the entirety of 1999 and especially that World Cup in England. And, it wasn’t just a wild slog. There was a method to Zulu’s madness. His plan, during the nets, was simple. Tune the bowling machine to bowl in the slot- either low full tosses of half volleys- and hit them as hard as possible, again and again, and again. “It was 500, 600 balls a day in that area, and just hitting them as hard as I could and as straight as possible. My thoughts were that if he misses his spot then I can take advantage of that.” No batsman had ever single-mindedly planned how to approach the death overs, as Klusener did. In an era where strike-rates barely crossed the 90-run-mark, Zulu was the Ferrari racing tuk-tuks. His last-ball boundary to win a tense run-chase in Napier 1999 against New Zealand or some of his match-turning vignettes- 12* off four balls against India to help Proteas to a successful run-chase; 52* off 45 to propel his team to a match-winning total of 9-199 against Sri Lanka or his 48* from 40 balls against England; 46* off 41 to seal a tense run-chase against a formidable Pakistani attack and of-course that unbeaten 31 off 16 balls in the semi-final- during the World Cup, gave a different dimension to a batsman’s approach in the final overs of One-day cricket. Overall, Klusener struck at 93.24 for his 1104 runs in 53 innings while batting in the lower-middle order, which shots up 97.24 during successful run-chases. 2. MS Dhoni MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter) If there wasn’t a guy called Michael Bevan then there is no doubt that MS Dhoni would have come at the numero-uno spot of any list, concerning the top-finishers in white-ball cricket. Dhoni was an epitome of calmness when it came to approaching a run-chase. He had supreme confidence in his ability and at his pomp, he could pull-off a near-dead run-chase. His epic annihilation of Clint McKay in Adelaide 2012 or the brutal destruction of Suranga Lakmal, where he stroked 15 runs in the last over of the tri-series final in 2013 or his plethora of finishing acts against Pakistan (especially on the tour of 2006) was a reflection of his steely mindset. His hitting skills may have waned in the past 2-3 years but Dhoni, still found a way, to steer his side past the finishing line in middling run-chases where he thrived on taking the game to the deep end. Dhoni was a part of 112 successful run-chases in his ODI career where he racked up 2556 runs at an average of 91.28 with the help of 19 half-centuries and one hundred. 1. Michael Bevan Michael Bevan. (Photo by Getty Images) Before Hussey and Dhoni, there was Michael Bevan, who truly revolutionized the role of a ‘finisher’ in white-ball cricket during the 1990s and early 2000s. Who can forget his whirlwind 88-ball 78* on New Year day 1996 against the West Indies where he stroked a last-ball four to help Australia notch up what looked like an unlikely win after they’d been reduced to 6-38 or his magnificent hundred (102* off 95 balls) against New Zealand, six years later, propelling the world champions to a two-wicket win after having gotten reduced to 6-82 during their run-chase of 246? Frankly, such was the consistency of Bevan, that one can even write a book on the memorable heists that he pulled off for the Aussies at the death. In 72 successful run-chases that Bevan participated in during his career, he racked up 1608 runs in 42 innings at an average of 84.63 with the help of 11 half-centuries and three hundred. Honorable Mentions: Abdul Razzaq, Alan Lamb, Aravinda de Silva

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Top 10 finishers of all time in white-ball cricket

One needs specific skills to relish in the role of a 'finisher', whose job involves taking stock of the situation and adjusting his/her game as per the demands.

7. Andre Russell

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