Virat Kohli has a strike rate of 90-plus in ODIs and has also scored more than 55% of his runs by sprinting between the wickets - who are the others who have combined big-hitting with smart running in their careers?
At the age of 37, it looked entirely routine when Virat Kohli turned an Aiden Markram ball to square leg and ran a three in Raipur. It was a small passage of play, easy to lose in the flow of the innings, yet it stayed with me. The quiet moments that define an athlete often slip past unnoticed, overshadowed by the louder beats of a career - the 53 ODI hundreds, the 84th international century.
That sprint raised a question: in an era shaped by power-hitting, who has scored the most through the quieter skills - the singles, the twos and the threes - since Kohli first stepped into international cricket in 2008?
Earlier generations played in conditions where boundary rates were lower, the bats lighter, and strike rotation an integral part of batting. Today’s game has shifted. Heavier bats, smaller grounds, and an elevated scoring tempo across formats have pushed strike rotation higher than before. In this context, Kohli stands apart. His 8,126 non-boundary ODI runs reflect not just his fitness but his instinct for reading the rhythm of an innings: the sense of when to attack and when to ease pressure through quick singles.
To highlight the true masters of this art, we focus on players who have scored at least 3,000 ODI runs and maintain a strike rate above 90, thereby looking at those who have been able to score quickly over a respectable time period.
*Vivian Richards and Kapil Dev both satisfy the cut-off, but exact boundary counts for the two are incomplete, so they have been omitted from the list.
10. David Warner: 3,220 non-boundary runs (46.45%)
Warner scored 3,220 runs without boundaries, alongside 3,712 from 733 fours and 130 sixes. His near-even split highlights a dual approach: explosive hitting when required, complemented by intelligent running to keep the innings moving.
9. Shane Watson: 2,691 non-boundary runs (46.74%)
Watson’s ODI game was a blend of measured running and controlled aggression. Of his 5,757 runs, 2,691 came through singles, twos, and threes, while the remaining 3,066 were amassed from 570 fours and 131 sixes.
8. Jos Buttler: 2,607 non-boundary runs (47.72%)
Buttler’s batting thrives on versatility. With 2,607 non-boundary runs forming just under half of his career tally of 5,463 runs, he complements his 441 fours and 182 sixes with strike rotation. It has made him one of the most versatile middle-order threats in modern ODI cricket.
7. Ben Stokes: 1,681 non-boundary runs (48.54%)
Of Stokes’ 3,463 ODI runs, 1,682 came without boundaries, yet he also amassed 282 fours and 109 sixes, showing his ability to punish loose deliveries. His nearly equal contribution from running and hitting allowed him to swing an innings with either sustained pressure or sudden acceleration, making him both a stabiliser and a finisher depending on the game’s demands.
6. Eoin Morgan: 3,765 non-boundary runs (48.89%)
Morgan almost single-handedly transformed England's ODI cricket, and a lot of it has to do with his own ODI fundamentals. His 3,765 non-boundary runs account for almost 49% of his total of 7,701 runs. With 654 fours and 220 sixes - 17 of which came in one innings! - Morgan’s ability to read the game, rotate strike, and keep partnerships alive made him indispensable.
5. David Miller: 2,379 non-boundary runs (51.59%)
Miller’s 4,611 runs are split almost evenly: 2,232 from boundaries, 2,379 through running. His precision in placement, coupled with quick singles, made him consistently reliable both in building and finishing innings.
4. AB de Villiers: 4,993 non-boundary runs (52.14%)
AB de Villiers was one of the most feared batsmen in all formats, yet his brilliance went beyond the big shots. Of the 9,577 ODI runs scored, 4,993 came through running between the wickets - 52% of his total. With 204 sixes and 840 fours, de Villiers could change a game with a single swing, but his ability to rotate the strike maintained relentless pressure on bowlers.
3. Andrew Symonds: 2,674 non-boundary runs (52.56%)
Symonds’ career thrived on adaptability. Of his 5,088 runs, 2,674 came without boundaries, meaning nearly 53% of his runs were built through running between the wickets. He could dismantle bowling attacks with sheer power - he hit 449 fours and 103 sixes - but equally, he understood the importance of pacing the innings and building partnerships with quick singles and twos. Symonds was the quintessential modern all-format cricketer, balancing aggression with efficiency.
2. Suresh Raina: 2,991 non-boundary runs (53.27%)
Raina combined agility with timing, accumulating 2,991 non-boundary runs, which make up just over 53% of his 5,615 runs. While celebrated for his explosive middle-over hitting, over half of his runs came through intelligent running. His 476 fours and 120 sixes show that when the situation called for power, he delivered, but his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking through placement and quick singles was equally valuable.
1. Virat Kohli: 8,126 non-boundary runs (56.07%)
Since his debut, Kohli has run nearly double the next batter on the top-ten list (AB de Villiers), highlighting not just his longevity but the way he structures his innings. Even in an era of aggressive hitting, Kohli has maintained a balance: 56% of his runs are non-boundary (the only batter to run more than 55% of his ODI runs), while 44% come from boundaries.
It is testament to Kohli's running between the wickets that he can almost make up with these runs, what other batters might achieve through boundaries. This combination of patience, fitness, and awareness makes him a master at controlling innings, building pressure, and capitalising when opportunities arise. The stats speak for themselves.
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