Today we discuss the batters with the most runs in a single World Cup. Can anyone break Sachin Tendulkar’s record?

Let’s get straight into it.

Key Takeaways

• Sachin Tendulkar scored the most runs in a single World Cup – 673 runs in the 2003 CWC. He is followed closely by Matthew Hayden (659 in 2007), Rohit Sharma (648 in 2019), and David Warner (647 in 2019).
• Among batters with 450+ runs in a single tournament, Martin Crowe (114.00 average) in 1992 and Kumar Sangakkara (108.20) in 2015 had the highest average.
• Sachin Tendulkar appears in this list thrice (2003, 1996, and 2011) while Kumar Sangakkara features twice (2015 & 2011).
• There were many prolific performances in the 2019 CWC, yielding 9 450+ scores. The 2019 CWC was followed by 2007 CWC (7 450+ scores), 2011 & 2015 (3), 1996 & 2003 (2), and 1987, 1992, & 1999 (1).
• In this group, AB De Villiers had (by far) the best strike rate – 144.31 (His 162* off 66 balls kind of skews the result). Other batters with 100+ SR are Kumar Sangakkara (105.87), Martin Guptill (104.58), Adam Gilchrist (103.89), Aaron Finch (102.01), and Matthew Hayden (101.07).

*Aravinda de Silva struck at 107.69 for his 448 runs & Jason Roy hit 443 runs at 115.36.

At a Glance: Most Runs in a Single World Cup Tournament: The Top 10

Player	Runs	World Cup
Sachin Tendulkar	673	2003
Matthew Hayden	659	2007
Rohit Sharma	648	2019
David Warner	647	2019
Shakib Al Hasan	606	2019
Kane Williamson	578	2019
Mahela Jayawardene	548	2007
Martin Guptill	547	2015
Kumar Sangakkara	541	2015
Ricky Ponting	539	2007

Evolution of the Most Runs in a Single World Cup (1975-2023)

• 1975: Glenn Turner (New Zealand) – 333
• 1979: Gordon Greenidge (West Indies) – 253
• 1983: David Gower (England) – 384
• 1987: Graham Gooch (England) – 471
• 1992: Martin Crowe (New Zealand) – 456
• 1996: Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 523
• 1999: Rahul Dravid (India) – 461
• 2003: Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 673
• 2007: Matthew Hayden (Australia) – 659
• 2011: Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 500
• 2015: Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 547
• 2019: Rohit Sharma (India) – 648

Top 28 Most Runs in a Single ODI Cricket World Cup

The filter of 450 World Cup runs cut-off yielded 28 instances. Here are all the details.

1. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 673 Runs, 2003 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 754
• Ave/SR: 61.18/89.25
• 100/50: 1/6
• Best Score: 152

Also Read: Sachin Tendulkar Centuries (The Definitive Guide): Everything You Need To Know About Sachin Tendulkar’s Hundred 100s

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2. Matthew Hayden (Australia) – 659 Runs, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 652
• Ave/SR: 73.22/101.07
• 100/50: 3/1
• Best Score: 158

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3. Rohit Sharma (India) – 648 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 9
• Balls Faced: 659
• Ave/SR: 81.00/98.33
• 100/50: 5/1
• Best Score: 140

Also Read: Top 10 Most Centuries in ODI Cricket World Cup: Can You Guess Who has Scored the Most CWC Hundreds?

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4. David Warner (Australia) – 647 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 10
• Balls Faced: 724
• Ave/SR: 71.88/89.36
• 100/50: 3/3
• Best Score: 166

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5. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) – 606 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 8
• Balls Faced: 631
• Ave/SR: 86.57/96.03
• 100/50: 2/5
• Best Score: 124*

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6. Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – 578 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 10
• Balls Faced: 771
• Ave/SR: 82.57/74.96
• 100/50: 2/2
• Best Score: 148

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7. Joe Root (England) – 556 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 621
• Ave/SR: 61.77/89.53
• 100/50: 2/3
• Best Score: 107

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8. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 548, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 644
• Ave/SR: 60.88/85.09
• 100/50: 1/4
• Best Score: 115*

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9. Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 547 Runs, 2015 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 9
• Balls Faced: 523
• Ave/SR: 68.37/104.58
• 100/50: 2/1
• Best Score: 237*

Also Read: Top 25 Highest Individual Scores in ODI World Cup: Who Will be the Highest Scorer in the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

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10. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 541 Runs, 2015 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 7
• Balls Faced: 511
• Ave/SR: 108.20/105.87
• 100/50: 4/0
• Best Score: 124

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11. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 539 Runs, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 565
• Ave/SR: 67.37/95.39
• 100/50: 1/4
• Best Score: 113

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12. Jonny Bairstow (England) – 532 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 573
• Ave/SR: 48.36/92.84
• 100/50: 2/2
• Best Score: 111

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13. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 523 Runs, 1996 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 7
• Balls Faced: 609
• Ave/SR: 87.16/85.87
• 100/50: 2/3
• Best Score: 137

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14. Aaron Finch (Australia) – 507 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 10
• Balls Faced: 497
• Ave/SR: 50.70/102.01
• 100/50: 2/3
• Best Score: 153

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15. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 500 Runs, 2011 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 9
• Balls Faced: 551
• Ave/SR: 62.50/90.74
• 100/50: 2/2
• Best Score: 144

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16. Scott Styris (New Zealand) – 499 Runs, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 10
• Balls Faced: 598
• Ave/SR: 83.16/83.44
• 100/50: 1/4
• Best Score: 111*

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17. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 485 Runs, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 10
• Balls Faced: 578
• Ave/SR: 80.83/83.91
• 100/50: 1/3
• Best Score: 128*

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18. Mark Waugh (Australia) – 484 Runs, 1996 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 7
• Balls Faced: 563
• Ave/SR: 80.66/85.96
• 100/50: 3/1
• Best Score: 130

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19. AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 482 Runs, 2015 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 8
• Balls Faced: 334
• Ave/SR: 96.40/144.31
• 100/50: 1/3
• Best Score: 162*

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20. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 482 Runs, 2011 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 9
• Balls Faced: 524
• Ave/SR: 52.55/91.98
• 100/50: 2/2
• Best Score: 120

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21. Babar Azam (India) – 474 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 8
• Balls Faced: 540
• Ave/SR: 67.71/87.77
• 100/50: 1/3
• Best Score: 101*

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22. Graham Gooch (England) – 471 Runs, 1987 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 8
• Balls Faced: 670
• Ave/SR: 58.87/70.29
• 100/50: 1/3
• Best Score: 115

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23. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 467 Runs, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 475
• Ave/SR: 46.70/98.31
• 100/50: 1/3
• Best Score: 115

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24. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 465 Runs, 2011 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 9
• Balls Faced: 555
• Ave/SR: 93.00/83.78
• 100/50: 1/3
• Best Score: 111

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25. Ben Stokes (England) – 465 Runs, 2019 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 10
• Balls Faced: 499
• Ave/SR: 66.42/93.18
• 100/50: 0/5
• Best Score: 89

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26. Sourav Ganguly (India) – 465 Runs, 2003 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 565
• Ave/SR: 58.12/82.30
• 100/50: 3/0
• Best Score: 112*

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27. Rahul Dravid (India) – 461 Runs, 1999 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 8
• Balls Faced: 539
• Ave/SR: 65.85/85.52
• 100/50: 2/3
• Best Score: 145

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28. Martin Crowe (New Zealand) – 456 Runs, 1992 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 9
• Balls Faced: 502
• Ave/SR: 114.00/90.83
• 100/50: 1/4
• Best Score: 100*

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29. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) – 453 Runs, 2007 ODI World Cup

• Innings: 11
• Balls Faced: 436
• Ave/SR: 45.30/103.89
• 100/50: 1/2
• Best Score: 149

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Final Thoughts

Every four years, the festival of the Cricket World Cup arrives.

Every four years, new stars are born and greats turn into legends.

From Sachin Tendulkar to AB de Villiers, their have been many who have made a single World Cup their own. Who will it be in 2023?

Also Read: Who Has Scored the Most Runs in ODI Cricket World Cups (Men’s)?| List of Top 21 Most Runs in Cricket World Cup (Updated 2023)

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