From Glenn Maxwell to Michael Bevan : Here are The Top 5 ODI Finishers From Australia
Glenn Maxwell has been one of Australia's finest finishers (Source: Twitter)
Finishing games is an art and there have been very few artists in world cricket who have come close to mastering this art. The finishers are the batters who are entitled with a job of taking their team over the line and most of the times, it is the most tedious job in white-ball cricket. Sometimes these batters have to start hitting right from the ball one while on other occasions, they have to take their team out of deep waters with patience and grit. So, there are one of the most rare and cherished assets in their teams and are an invaluable treasure for any successful team.
Over the years, we have seen Australia dominating world cricket and they were especially dominant in the first decade of the 21st century. Let us now see the list of their top 5 finishers who took them to top of the ladder in world cricket.
5. Glenn Maxwell
'The Big Show' as he is fondly called, Glenn Maxwell has the ability to take down any bowling attack in the world when he is in full flow. He started off as a basher and made a big name for his big-hitting antics. He has played plenty of match-winning knocks for Australia in ODI cricket generally batting in lower middle order and players like him make Australia a dangerous well-rounded unit.
In the 2015 World Cup, that Australia won, Maxwell scored 324 runs at an average of 64.80 at a strike-rate of 182 which shows the kind of impact he made with his quickfire knocks.
4. Steve Waugh
One of the toughest cricketer to play the game, Steve Waugh's temperament under pressure was second to none. The former Australian skipper was known for his gritty batting and a crafter. His batted at number 5 or number 6 for the most of his ODI career and on majority of occasions, he was at the forefront when his team needed someone to deliver under pressure.
His most memorable ODI knock came in the 1999 World Cup when he showed tremendous grit and determination and smashed 120 off 110 balls against South Africa. Australia eventually went onto lift that World Cup and overall, Waugh hit 45 fifties and three centuries coming out to bat with his team in precarious position most of the time.
3. Andrew Symonds
Symonds was one of the most talented cricketers to play the game. He could hit sixes at will and had the knack of delivering under pressure and that too with his typical swag and style. He played number of match-winning knocks for Australia when the Kangaroos looked down and out and was the key player in Australia's World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007.
His knock of 143 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup is considered as one of the finest knocks ever played in the World Cup. His biggest assets were his ability to demolish bowling attacks and produce his best when this team was under the pump.
2. Michael Hussey
'Mr. Cricket' as he is fondly known, Hussey was a late-bloomer but started ruling world cricket as soon as he entered the international arena. He had a beautiful knack of adapting his game according to the match situation and nailed plenty of chases in his illustrious ODI career.
Hussey scored 5442 runs in 185 ODIs at an average of 48.15 and a healthy strike rate of 87.16. He started his ODI career by staying unbeaten in his first five innings. His one of the best knocks in ODI cricket came in 2009 against New Zealand when Australia were chasing 245 and though Australia lost three early wickets, Hussey never looked rattled and finished off the chase with a brilliant 75 not out of 71 balls.
1. Michael Bevan
Michael Bevan - the man who redefined the finisher's role in white-ball cricket. Bevan was absolutely brilliant in assessing situations and mastered the art of pacing his knocks in ODI cricket. Bevan scored 6912 runs in ODIs at an average of 53.58 and was the man for crisis of Australian cricket in 1990s and early 2000s.
One of his best knocks ODI knock came against the Windies in 1996 where Bevan took his side over the line with a boundary off the final ball. He scored 78 in that game when Australia were chasing 173 and were restricted to 38-6 at one point in time. Bevan played many such knocks and is regarded as one of the best finishers in the history of the game.
.jpg "Why GT holds adv over CSK!")
 "Aashay Chopade")
