Sachin Tendulkar’s role in India’s ODI batting lineup was rather contrasting to his Test role. In red-ball cricket, he batted at No. 4 most times, providing stability while batting for a longer time.
But in ODIs, Tendulkar opened the batting, often providing brisk starts to set a foundation for upcoming batters. And no wonder he has accumulated the most runs in that position.
However, when he started playing ODIs, he batted down the order before moving to the top. And that promotion gave us many records and a solid opener.
On that note, we’ll look at Sachin Tendulkar’s runs by batting position in ODI cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar ODI Batting Stats by Position
| Batting Position | Inns | Runs | Avg | HS | 100s/50s | Not Outs | Ducks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opener | 340 | 15310 | 48.29 | 200* | 45/75 | 23 | 12 |
| No. 3 | 10 | 92 | 10.22 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| No. 4 | 61 | 2059 | 38.84 | 140* | 4/15 | 8 | 5 |
| No. 5 | 36 | 797 | 28.46 | 82* | 0/5 | 8 | 3 |
| No. 6 | 4 | 148 | 49.33 | 57* | 0/1 | 1 | 0 |
| No. 7 | 1 | 20 | 20.00 | 20 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 452 | 18426 | 44.83 | 200* | 49/96 | 41 | 20 |
Key Insights
Sachin Tendulkar’s 18426 runs are the most by any batter in ODI cricket. He is also the leading run-scorer in Tests and is among a handful of batters with 10000-plus runs in both formats.
Tendulkar amassed 15310 runs as an opener, which betters the career tally of Kumar Sangakkara (14234), who is the second-highest run-getter in ODIs.
The Master Blaster is one of six batters to have a batting average of above 45 as an opener (minimum 5000 runs).
He smashed 49 centuries in ODIs, of which 45 came while opening, the most by any opener. His 120 fifty-plus scores are also the most in that position, with the next best being Sanath Jayasuriya (94). He also tops the overall most 50+ scores record in ODIs, Tests, and both combined.
Despite opening the innings, Tendulkar remained not out 23 times, which is the second-most after Desmond Haynes (28).
Tendulkar was the first male batter to bring up a double hundred in ODIs. He smashed an unbeaten 200 against South Africa in 2010 while batting as opener. He is then followed by a few other batters.
The Mumbai batter is one of the five Indian players to score 2000-plus runs at No. 4 position. His four centuries are also the fourth-most among Indians in that slot.
Tendulkar’s unbeaten 140 against Kenya in 1999 is the third-highest individual score by an Indian at No. 4.
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