Most Runs in Cricket History: The Game's Biggest Legends

People in India sat stuck in front of the television when Sachin used to bat. Everyone knew he would bat flawlessly and score very important runs for the team. He was the backbone of the Indian batting lineup for about two and a half decades. And by the end of his career, he ended up being the batsman with the most runs in cricket. Well, The God of Cricket was a different breed altogether and matching his numbers is a record to beat for any batsman. 

But we cannot discount the fact that there have been other batters that have contributed to the sport and scored super valuable runs for the team. In this gentleman’s sport, where batting and outscoring the opponent is the main objective, holding the record for the most runs in all formats is a prestige. In today’s chapter of ZAP Records, let’s look at the batsmen with the most runs in test, ODI and T20 International Cricket. 

Most Runs in Test Cricket:

Credit: Hindustan Times

The God, Sachin Tendulkar dominated the format for over 20 years and played a record 200 test matches – the most by any player. And over the span of his career, he scored at an average of 53+ runs per innings. He was the format’s most prolific run getter scoring 15,921 runs throughout his career. Let’s look at the top 10 players with the most test match runs. 

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s	Highest Score
S Tendulkar (IND)	200	15921	53.78	51	68	248*
R Ponting (AUS)	168	13378	51.85	41	62	257
J Kallis (SA)	166	13289	55.37	45	58	224
R Dravid (IND)	164	13288	52.31	36	63	270
A Cook (ENG)	161	12472	45.35	33	57	294
K Sangakkara (SL)	134	12400	57.40	38	52	319
B Lara (WI)	131	11953	52.88	34	48	400*
S Chanderpaul (WI)	164	11867	51.37	30	66	203*
M Jayawardene (SL)	149	11814	49.84	34	50	374
A Border (AUS)	156	11174	50.56	27	63	205

Want to join this list and become one of the legends of the game?

Get ZAP’s Cricket Bats that are expertly made to help you dominate the game on the pitch!

Most Runs in T20I:

Credit: Business Today

T20 format is one of the most interesting formats for the spectators to watch and experience. Characterised by quick runs scoring, with boundaries raining and batsman hitting big sixes, the format is a true test of a players’ six hitting prowess. Chris Gayle, one of the most legendary players in the format, was also one of the most fearful batsmen to bowl to in this format. He could easily dispatch any ball out of the park! Let’s look at the top 10 batsmen with the most runs in t20 internationals. 

Player	Matches Played	Runs Scored	Strike Rate	Batting Average	50s	100s	Highest Score
V Kohli (IND)*	115	4008	137.96	52.73	37	1	122*
R Sharma (IND)*	148	3853	139.24	31.3	29	4	118
M Guptill (NZ)*	122	3531	135.70	31.8	20	2	105
Babar Azam (PAK)*	104	3485	128.40	41.48	30	3	122
P Stirling (IRE)*	124	3275	135.89	28.72	22	1	115*
AJ Finch (AUS)	103	3120	142.53	34.28	19	2	172
D Warner (AUS)*	99	2894	141.30	32.88	24	1	100*
Mohammad Rizwan (PAK)*	85	2797	127.30	49.07	25	1	104*
J Buttler (ENG)*	106	2713	144.07	34.78	20	1	101*
Mohammad Hafeez (PAK)	119	2514	122.03	26.46	14	-	99*

The most important skill you can have as a player in the T20 format is being able to hit sixes at will. Read this Power Hitting in Cricket article by ZAP and learn this ability to hit sixes easily. 

Most Runs in ODI Cricket:

Sachin Tendulkar is the GOAT batsman of yet another cricket format. His 18K+ runs is a record that is unmatched by anyone, but Virat 'the run machine' Kohli could be on his way to eclipse that record. He still has about 8-9 years left in his career and could own the record. Let’s look at a list of top ten players with the highest runs in one day international cricket. 

Player	Matches Played	Runs Scored	Batting Average	50s	100s	Highest Score
SR Tendulkar	463	18,426	44.83	96	49	200*
KC Sangakkara	404	14,234	41.98	93	25	169
Ricky Ponting	375	13,704	42.03	82	30	164
S Jayasuriya	445	13,430	32.36	68	28	189
Virat Kohli*	274	12,898	57.32	65	46	183
DPMD Jayawardene	448	12,650	33.37	77	19	144
Inzamam-ul-Haq	378	11,739	39.52	83	10	137*
JH Kallis	328	11,579	44.36	86	17	139
SC Ganguly	311	11,363	41.02	72	22	183
R Dravid	344	10,889	39.16	83	12	153

Cricket being a team game, it's important to never forget the fact that every single player contributes to the success equally. MS Dhoni goes very under the radar in this aspect. He has more than 10,000 runs in the ODI format and his ability to win the match from crunch situations is very underrated in terms of stats. He might not score the most runs for the team, but always made sure that he batted all the way and help the team across the line. His batting average of 102 in successful runs chases in ODI is a testament of this. After all, we all had the belief that "Dhoni Sambhal Lega"!

Most Runs in International Cricket:

The ultimate record in the sport for any player who wields the willow, is currently held by the man who is known as the God of Cricket. His runs tally is a result of over 24 years of playing career. Next on the list is Kumar Sangakkara, the left handed maestro from Sri Lanka. Ricky Ponting could easily be considered the greatest Australian batsman of all time. The list going forward is stacked with legendary batsmen, who have always stood up for their teams. Let’s look at the top 10 batsmen with the most runs in international cricket. 

Player	Total Matches Played	Total Runs Scored	Test Runs	ODI Runs	T20I Runs	50s	100s
S Tendulkar	664	34,357	15921	18426	10	164	100
K Sangakkara	594	28,016	12400	14234	1382	153	63
R Ponting	560	27,483	13378	13794	401	146	71
M Jayawardene	652	25,957	11814	12650	1493	136	54
J Kallis	519	25,534	13289	11579	666	149	62
Virat Kohli*	497	25,322	8479	12898	4008	130	75
Rahul Dravid	509	24,208	13288	10889	31	146	48
B Lara	430	22,358	11953	10405	-	111	53
S Jayasuriya	586	21,032	6973	13430	629	103	42
S Chanderpaul	454	20,988	11867	8778	343	125	41

You too can have your names in this list, but first perfect how you play on the field. Read the cricket batting tips and techniques article by ZAP and become a superstar with the willow in hand. 

Conclusion:

Always remember, that such records display the indomitable human spirit to outperform everyone else and contribute to the wins of their teams. And as the sport evolves, we will only get to see more and more players that shatter these records set by historic legends and write their names in the record books for the most runs in cricket!