Ten greatest batsmen of world cricket

New Delhi: Cricket has created a huge influence on people of all ages, particularly in South Asia. In cricket, most of the mind blowing and critical situations are handled by great batsmen, who go on become heroes of their teams. Year after year, experienced and good batsmen are creating new records and gaining top positions in ICC rankings. Have a look at the following list of top 10 best batsmen of the world: 1. Sachin Tendulkar Wisden has listed Sachin as the second best batsmen in Test cricket after Don Bradman, and the second best batsmen in ODIs after Viv Richards. But, for Indians and South Asian fans, Sachin Tendulkar is No. 1, both in Tests and ODIs. He holds the highest number of centuries, 51 in Test cricket and 49 in one-day internationals. Sachin also holds the record of being the first man to score a double century in an ODI match (against South Africa). He holds the record of being the first man to score 12k, 13k, 14k, and 15k runs in test cricket. He also holds the record of being the first man to score 10k runs in ODIs. 2. Sir Don Bradman If we are talking about the greatest batsman ever, he is none other than the Don. Though Donald Bradman was not consistent but, whenever he was in form, no one could stop him. It was like an honor for a bowler to take the wicket of Don Bradman. Bradman's batting average of 99.94 is the greatest achievement by any man in any form of major sport. He scored 29 Test centuries from 80 innings with an aggregate of 6,996 runs. 3. Ricky Ponting Ricky Ponting no doubt is one of the greatest players in cricket history. He is a classical, yet a good striker of the ball. Ponting is the only cricketer in the world to be involved in 100 test victories. He scored 41 Test centuries and 30 ODI tons. Ponting made 13,378 runs from 168 tests, and 13,704 runs from 375 ODIs. One of the most successful Australian captains, Ricky Ponting is in 3rd spot among the greatest batsmen of all time. He won 48 out of 77 Tests as captain. 4. Garfield Sobers One of the greatest all rounders in cricket history, Gary Sobers is one of the best batsmen in cricket. Hailing from the Caribbean, Gary Sobers used to play very elegant shots and had a great pair of hands. He had a batting average of 57.78 in test cricket with the highest score of 365 (not out) runs. He made 26 centuries while playing 93 Tests making an aggregate of 8,032 runs. 5. Brian Lara Brian Lara needs no introduction in cricket. He is among the strongest West Indian batsmen in test cricket. He holds the record for the highest individual runs in test cricket 400(not out) runs and in first class cricket 501(not out) runs. Lara made 34 Test centuries and 19 ODI tons. He made 11,953 runs while playing 131 Tests and 10,405 runs while playing 299 ODIs. With his classical batting, Brian Lara is in the list of greatest batsman of all time at the 5th spot. 6. Viv Richards One of the greatest batsmen in one-day cricket, Viv Richards is known for his aggressive, but controlled batting. With an average of 50.23 in tests and 47 in ODIs, Richards hit 24 Test centuries and 11 ODI tons. He made an aggregate of 8,540 runs from 121 Tests and 6,721 runs from 187 ODIs. Richards is in the 6th spot of the greatest batsmen of all time. 7. Jacques Kallis One of the most talented cricketers in world cricket, Jacques Kallis from South Africa hit 44 Test centuries and 17 ODI tons. His agregate is 13,128 runs from 162 Tests, and 11,498runs from 321 ODIs. He is not only a good batsman but also an excellent all rounder as well. With an average of 45.26 in ODI and 56.48 in test cricket, he is in the list of top ten greatest batsmen at the 7th spot.8. Wally Hammond Another very excellent cricketer from England making the list of top ten greatest batsmen of all time is Wally Hammond. He made 336 not out in his Test innings in 1933, which was surpassed by Len Hutton five years later. With an average of 58.45 and 7,249 runs from 85 tests, he hit 22 Test centuries and took 83 wickets. 9. Jack Hobbs Jack Hobbs from England was born in the 19th century, when bowling used to dominant batting totally. Most of the bowlers during that period had a bowling average of less than 20 and it was very hard being a batsman at that time. But Jack Hobbs proved he was one of the best batsman with his amazing batting. In his career of 61 matches, Hobbs scored 15 centuries at an average of 56.94 runs, aggregating 5,410 runs. He is listed among the greatest batsmen at the 9th spot. 10. Rahul Dravid Known as "The Wall", Rahul Dravid has an amazing ability in defence and he used to play with patience. His average is 52.31 in test cricket and 39.16 in ODI. He scored 36 centuries while playing 164 Test matches (aggregate 13,288 runs) and hit 12 centuries while playing 344 ODIs (aggregate 10,889 runs) Wisden ranks Dravid as the third best Test batsmen after Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. Dravid is the third highest run-scorer in test cricket after Sachin and Ricky Ponting.