Cricket’s ultimate big-match players: Top 3 knockout legends
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Source: Indian Cricket Team on IG)
Published - 18 Jun 2026, 05:42 AM• Read time - 2 mins
In the rich 149-year history of international cricket, fans have seen some of the greatest batters to have ever played the game. These players made run-scoring fun, leaving fans enthralled with their remarkable consistency. However, a true test of a batter comes during the knockout stages of an ICC event, when the odds are stacked heavily against their team.
These moments test the character of a player and only those who’re able to withstand the pressure and take their team over the finishing line etch their names in the cricketing folklore forever. Here are the top three players who’ve stood above the rest in the knockout stages of ICC events and delivered under pressure time and again:
3. Ricky Ponting (731 runs)
The former Australia captain always stood up for his team on big occasions, and his record in the knockout stages of the ICC events is a testament to it. Ponting takes the third spot with 731 runs from 18 innings at an average of 45.68 with three hundreds and one fifty to his name. His most famous knock came during the 2003 ODI World Cup final, where he blasted an unbeaten 140* (121) against India and guided his team to a massive 125-run win.
2. Rohit Sharma (884 runs)
The India opener takes the second spot, having played several match-winning innings for his country in the knockout stages. Rohit Sharma has 884 runs from 23 innings in knockout stages at an average of 44.2 and a strike rate of 93.64 with two hundreds and as many fifties. His most famous innings came during the ODI World Cup 2015 quarter-final against Bangladesh, where he scored 137 (126) in Melbourne.
1. Virat Kohli (1024 runs)
The star India batter holds the record for scoring the most runs in the knockout stages of ICC events. Virat Kohli has 1024 runs to his name from 24 innings at an average of 51.2 with one hundred and nine fifties. His best innings came during the World Cup 2023 semi-final, where he broke the record for most ODI centuries with a brilliant innings of 117 (113) vs New Zealand. Apart from that, he also scored a match-winning 76 (59) during the T20 World Cup 2024 final and 43 (34) during the Champions Trophy 2013 final.
