Top Five Batters With Most Runs In Debut World Cup Edition
Ben Stokes with the winners' medal in 2019 World Cup (AP)
The ICC Cricket World Cup, a grandiose spectacle that transcends borders in the pursuit of sporting excellence, stands at the zenith of cricketing glory. Within the decorated grounds of this hallowed arena, some of the biggest titans of the game converge as they aim to etch their names into the tournament's rich history.
As seasoned batting veterans dazzle at one end, an ODI World Cup event is also an exquisite stage for sparkling young talents to catapult themselves into instant international stardom. A selected few among these young batting luminaries, armed with a vast gallery of stroke-play, have ended up announcing their arrival in resounding fashion.
Here at OneCricket, we take a look at five such young batters who left an indelible mark in their debut tournament outing itself, debutants as such who ended up scoring the highest number of runs in their maiden World Cup edition.
Most Runs Scored By World Cup Debutants
1. Rachin Ravindra - 565* runs, 2023 World Cup
Rachin Ravindra in action at the 2023 World Cup (AP)
Rachin Ravindra, who made his ODI debut barely six months prior to the 2023 World Cup, entered the competition with a mere 12 matches in his profile. Despite lacking in List A experience, the 24-year-old batting prodigy took the tournament by storm, whacking a career-best 123* against defending champions England to kick off his nation's campaign on a winning note.
The cricketer plundered two more tons against Australia and Pakistan, punched out imperial half-centuries against the Netherlands and hosts India to blaze past 500 World Cup 2023 runs in just his eighth innings of the ODI spectacle.
Having tallied 565 runs so far and holding a chance to record a few more through New Zealand's imminent semi-final, Ravindra's run-fest in India has already taken him past batting great Sachin Tendulkar of being the youngest player to score over 500 runs in a single World Cup edition.
2. Jonny Bairstow - 532 runs, 2019 World Cup
Jonny Bairstow celebrating his 2019 World Cup century against India (x.com)
Despite bursting onto the ODI scene in 2011, Jonny Bairstow had to wait nearly eight years to make his first World Cup appearance for England, and the cricketer did so within the confines of his home conditions in 2019.
The elegant Englishman overcame his first-ball duck against South Africa in the tournament opener with much finesse, coming up clutch against India and New Zealand in must-win backend games with identical match-winning hundreds. Bairstow also carpet-bombed Australia's high-flying attack with a blazing 34 in the semi-finals and pounded thunderous half-centuries against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Overall, the then 29-year-old finished the 2019 World Cup with 532 runs from 11 innings and a winner's medal to his name and stood not far behind some of the greatest of the game in the competition's leading run-scoring charts.
3. Babar Azam - 474 runs, 2019 World Cup
Babar Azam in action at the 2019 World Cup (x.com)
Batting maestro Babar Azam solidified himself as one of the stalwarts of Pakistan's ODI setup back in his initial years of international cricket. Selected to represent his nation at the 2019 World Cup, nearly four years after his ODI debut, the right-hander justified his reputation as one of Pakistan's very best by putting up numerous batting exhibitions across different English surfaces.
At 24, Babar pumped out 101 unbeaten runs against New Zealand to lead his side to an emphatic six-wicket win. The cricketer also unfurled match-winning 60s against England and South Africa and eventually concluded his run with 474 runs from just eight innings.
While Pakistan crashed out of the semi-final race owing to their early defeats, Babar Azam emerged as one of the standout performers from his team's tumultuous campaign.
4. Ben Stokes - 465 runs, 2019 World Cup
Ben Stokes flicks for a boundary at the 2019 World Cup (x.com)
Ben Stokes signalled England's World Cup dream in their 2019 opener with a match-winning 89 against South Africa and lifted the coveted crown with a run-chase knock for the ages against New Zealand in the final.
At 28, the dashing all-rounder also shouldered the responsibility of his nation's Super Over quest in the title clash, thumping New Zealand's pace veteran Trent Boult for clutch runs in the final few moments of the competition.
Standing alongside fellow debutant Jonny Bairstow at the podium, Ben Stokes produced 465 World Cup-winning runs across ten innings, bagging an impressive average of 66.42, with five classy half-centuries to his name.
5. Rahul Dravid - 461 runs, 1999 World Cup
Rahul Dravid in action at the 1999 World Cup (x.com)
Taking the field in England in 1999, legendary Rahul Dravid soon found himself at the epicentre of India's World Cup squad in just his third year of international cricket. Having already established himself as one of the talents to watch out for in the new millennium, Dravid finished his maiden World Cup assignment as its highest run-scorer, bettering second-placed Steve Waugh by 63 runs despite featuring in two lesser games.
The cricketer shattered numerous partnership records throughout the month-long event, first through his 237-run alliance with Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya and then with a 318-run epic with Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka in Taunton to get India's campaign back on track.
Dravid also listed crunch half-centuries against South Africa and England and a match-winning one against Pakistan to preserve India's unbeaten run against their arch-rivals.
The legendary right-hander finished the tournament with 461 runs up his batting profile, featuring two thunderous tons and three additional fifty-plus scores.
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