After finishing behind Virat Kohli for two consecutive years, Rohit Sharma finally managed to eclipse the Indian skipper to finish 2019 as the highest run-getter in one-day international cricket. Rohit scored his 43rd ODI half-century on Sunday in the third and final ODI match against West Indies at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack en route to his run-a-ball score of 63 as he finished 2019 with 1490 runs in the format from 28 matches. Kohli, who was denied a unique hat-trick by Rohit, finished second on the list followed by West Indies batsman Shai Hope.
Rohit's 1490 runs came at an average of 57.03 with a strike rate of 89.92, comprising seven centuries and six half-centuries. 648 of his total runs were scored in World Cup 2019 where he had pulled of a record-breaking six consecutive ODI centuries, but eventually fell 25 runs short of Sachin Tendulkar's record of most runs in a single world cup tournament.
Kohli had finished as the highest run-getter in ODIs in 2017 with a tally of 1460 runs in 26 games while Rohit had finished second with 1293 runs in 21 matches. In the following year, Kohli once again managed to grab the top spot with 1202 runs in 14 matches while Rohit bagged the second spot with a tally of 1030 runs in 19 games.
The story remained the same for most parts of 2019, but Rohit edged past the Indian skipper with scores of 36 and 159 in the first and second ODI against West Indies while Kohli managed 4 and 0. Kohli finished 2019 as the second-highest run-getter with a tally of 1346* runs in 26 matches while Windies batter Hope, who scored 42 runs on Sunday to become the fastest to 3000 runs in the format f4rom his nation, stands third with 1345 runs in 28 games.
Earlier in the evening, with two boundaries and a single against Sheldon Cottrell in the pacer's second over. Rohit became the highest-scoring opener in a calendar year in international cricket. He broke Sri Lankan's legend Sanath Jayasuriya's 22-year-old record en route to the feat.
India finished 2019 in ODIs with two players at the top of batting and bowling lists. Mohammed Shami ended as the highest wicket-taker in ODIs for the year, having picked 42 wickets from 21 matches which comprise two four-wicket hauls, one fi-fer, and an elite World Cup hat-trick.
