Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman to have faced more than 20 thousand balls in ODI cricket to date.

When a career spans over close to two and a half decades and the batsman has been scoring consistently, the chances are that he would be on top of such a list. It is no surprise then that Sachin Tendulkar is the leader of the pack when it comes to batsmen having faced most balls in ODI cricket.

In 463 matches, Tendulkar faced 21368 balls which is well clear of any other batsman. Tendulkar struck 49 centuries in his ODI career and also hit 2016 fours and 195 sixes.

Second on the list of batsmen to have faced the most deliveries in ODI cricket is Sri Lankan batting legend Kumar Sangakkara, who faced 18048 balls in 404 ODI matches.

Alongside Sachin Tendulkar, he is the only other batsman in ODI cricket to have faced more than 18000 deliveries. Sangakkara scored 25 centuries and 93 half-centuries and hit 1385 fours and 88 sixes.

On the third place in the list is Ricky Ponting who faced 17046 balls and scored 30 centuries. The former Australian captain hit 1231 fours and 162 sixes.

The interesting point is that all these batsmen are also the leading run-scorers in ODI cricket. While Tendulkar has a strike rate of 86.23, both Sangakkara and Ponting have also done a decent job, striking at around 80 in ODI cricket. As their pace of run-scoring is more or less the same, it is understandable that the top run-scorers have also faced the most deliveries in ODI cricket.

At the fourth place in the list is another Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene who faced 16020 deliveries and scored 12650 runs from 418 ODI innings. His average of 33.37 may not be great, but his runs came in the big games, more often than not.

Jayawardene struck 19 centuries and 77 half-centuries with the help of 1119 fours and 76 sixes in his ODI career.

South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis is the batsman to have faced the fifth-highest number of deliveries in ODI cricket. Kallis faced 15885 balls and scored 11579 runs from 328 matches while striking 17 centuries and 86 half-centuries with 911 fours and 137 sixes.

At the sixth place in the list of batsmen to have faced the most deliveries in ODI cricket is former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq who faced 15812 balls.