successful number 4 players: In a 50-over game, the number four spot in the batting order is the most interesting. Depending on how the top order does, the batsmen have to change their game. Sometimes they have to play defensively to keep the ship from sinking, and other times they have to play aggressively to fight back. Some of the best players in limited-overs cricket, like Mahela Jayawardene, Aravinda de Silva, Ross Taylor, and AB de Villiers, made their names by batting in the most important spot for most of their careers.
The Indian cricket team’s number four batter has been giving them trouble for a while now. In the current series against South Africa, Ajinkya Rahane, who used to be an opener, is now playing at two-down. We take a look at some of the best Indian batsmen who have played at this position in One Day Internationals.
Successful number 4 players
Sachin Tendulkar
Does The Master Blaster not belong on every batting list in the world? Sachin Tendulkar is known as one of the best batsmen of all time. He spent most of his career as an opener for the Indian team. No one needs to tell you about what he did at the top of the order. Early in his ODI career, Tendulkar batted lower down the order, usually when the second or third wicket fell. Before becoming India’s permanent top-order batsman in 1994, “The God of Cricket” batted at number 4 61 times, scoring 2059 runs at a good average of 38.85. Even though these numbers aren’t very impressive compared to his overall record, Tendulkar’s contributions to the Indian team during his two stints, the second of which was in the early 2000s, were often very important.
Dilip Vengsarkar
Many people think that Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev were India’s best match-winners in the 1980s, but Dilip Vengsarkar is not far behind. Gavaskar and Dev were the best players at the top and bottom of the order, respectively. Vengsarkar was a key player in the middle order. During his 15-year international career, Vengsarkar played number four in 71 of his 120 ODI innings, scoring 2138 runs at a good average of 37.51. The fact that his career average of 34.73 is much lower than his average as the number four batsman is enough to show that Vengsarkar, who was one of the best batsmen in the longer format, was a good number four batsman for India.
Rahul Dravid
The name “The Wall” has been given to Rahul Dravid for a reason. Early on in his international career, Dravid was known as an expert test batsman. In the 21st century, he became one of India’s most consistent short-form batsmen. The fact that he had 10889 runs at an average of 39.14 in 318 ODIs at the end of his career shows how good he was as the center of the Indian middle order. Dravid had a long and successful career, and he batted fourth for most of it.
In 102 innings, he scored 3,301 runs, which is an average of 36.27. Even though it’s a little lower than his career average, it’s nothing compared to how many times he saved the Indian team after they were in trouble early on. Dravid was the most important player in the middle order for India when he was a player. He is now a coach who has won the World Cup.
Yuvraj Singh
Singh has had more of an effect on the Indian short-form cricket team than almost anyone else. Yuvraj has been a part of the middle order for India ever since he played his first match for India against Australia in 2000. In the beginning of his career, he batted at number five or six. By the end of his career, he was India’s two-down batsman for good. The southpaw batted at the all-important position in 108 of his 278 ODI innings, scoring 3,415 runs at an average of 35.12 and a healthy strike rate of 90. His best score ever was 150, which he got against England last year. He also got that score while batting in the same spot. His career average of 36 is just a little bit higher than his average at this position. Which shows that he did a great job at number four.
Mohammad Azharuddin
Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, and Rahul Dravid are among India’s finest batsmen. Mohammad Azharuddin was India’s captain in the 1990s, yet his name is hardly mentioned. Azharuddin was an overlooked middle-order batsman for India. The graceful batsman batted after the second wicket 137 times and averaged over 40. Much higher than his career average of 36.92. Azhar was the greatest run-scorer in ODI cricket until he was dropped from the Indian side in 2000.
Successful number 4 players
After scoring a century, the face of the England batsman Emma Lamb was like crying
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