Players who have scored most tons in team's winning causes
Scoring a hundred is an occasion every cricket player cherishes and the achievement is even sweeter when it helps one's team in winning matches. Players who put centuries on scoreboard for their teams, time and again in such winning causes, are often the key to a team's success. Here we take a look at batsmen with most ODI centuries in a winning cause.
Who else but Sachin Tendulkar?
It had to be the master blaster having scored 49 tons, the most ODI hundreds in cricket's history. Sachin Tendulkar tops the list of players with most ODI centuries in a winning cause with 33 such tons under his belt. Interestingly, it took 78 matches for Sachin to score his first ODI hundred which steered India to a 31-run win against Australia, in 1994.
Virat Kohli, breaking one record at a time
Virat Kohli is slowly closing in on Sachin Tendulkar's record, having already scored 29 ODI hundreds in a winning cause for India. 18 of these tons came in successful run chases. He has total 34 ODI hundreds which shows how many few matches India lost when he goes on to score a hundred. India won 85% of the matches, where he scored a hundred.
Ricky Ponting, the best Aussie skipper was also Mr. Dependable
Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting is counted among the best skippers of world. 25 out of his total 30 ODI tons were scored when his side won the match. Of the five hundreds that came in a losing cause three were his first three ODI centuries. Unfortunately his last ton was also in a lost cause, where his team lost to India in 2011.
It's a tie! Amla and Jayasuriya
With 24 ODI tons, Hashim Amla and Sanath Jayasuriya, the modern and former ODI greats, occupy number 4 spot in the list of most tons in a winning cause. A staggering 24 of the 26 times when Amla has scored a hundred South Africa won, and 24 of the 28 ODI tons scored by Jayasuriya led his Sri Lankan team to victory.
AB de Villiers, the South African talisman
AB de Villiers is among the best players of modern generation and is popular for his flair and style of play. The South African has 25 ODI centuries from 226 ODI outings and 21 of them came when his team won. His contribution also assumes additional importance considering he mostly plays as a middle order batsman, unlike the others in the top 5 list.
