In ODI cricket’s 55-year history, very few batters have begun their careers with the kind of sustained run-making Milind Kumar has produced: 1,330 runs in 28 innings at a staggering average of 70. For perspective, that average currently sits above that of his former Delhi and Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate, Virat Kohli, one of the format’s undisputed greats.
That is not to suggest Milind has entered Kohli’s historical orbit. Longevity, volume and the weight of Kohli’s achievements make that comparison fall flat. But as a snapshot of just how remarkable Milind’s first two years in ODI cricket have been, it is difficult to find a more arresting reference point.
And on Sunday at Grand Prairie, Milind added another landmark performance to his growing ODI resume. Chasing 331 against UAE, the highest successful ODI chase in USA history, he walked away unbeaten on 116 off 84 deliveries, steering USA through a pursuit that demanded both composure and acceleration after USA were already 3 down for 134. It was his second successive unbeaten ODI century in a winning chase, following the 111 not out that took USA past 276 in a last-ball thriller against Canada in June.
While his numbers are extraordinary, the circumstances in which they have been accumulated are perhaps even more so. Associate cricket is hardly conducive to the sort of rhythm a one-day batsman ordinarily craves. USA play roughly 12 ODIs a year and, crucially, do so without a domestic 50-over structure that allows players to return home and continually sharpen the specific demands of the format.
Then comes the relentless World Cup League 2 schedule, which often asks teams to play four ODIs in little over a week, frequently through unforgiving day games in scorching conditions. Teams arrive in a country, get limited time to acclimatise and are quickly thrown into a sequence of games with little breathing room in between. The conditions can be just as varied. League 2 takes batsmen from seaming surfaces in Europe to dry, turning tracks in the Middle East and, on occasions, more batting-friendly wickets in the United States. Grand Prairie on Sunday was an aberration in that sense. Much of Associate cricket is played on surfaces and outfields where run-making is far more laborious than the scorecards suggest.
USA don’t play enough ODIs for Milind to constantly sharpen his skills. ©Getty
Milind has found ways to score through all of it. That adaptability stems from the strong basics his game is built on. He is not an extravagant stroke-maker in the conventional sense. He is a busy operator, constantly looking to manipulate the field, work gaps and keep the innings moving. Against spin, in particular, there is a quiet authority about him, the product of footwork, judgment and an ability to assess length early.
There is something almost monastic about his presence at the crease in ODI cricket. Milind rarely appears hurried, rarely seems consumed by the occasion and often accumulates runs so unobtrusively that the opposition can fail to notice the game slipping away until it is already too late.
“The hunger for runs comes from the hunger to win. The hunger to play the World Cup next year,” Milind said.
“What helps me in this format is my clear intent. I somehow read the situation very early in one-day cricket. What is going on, what to do, what bowling is going on. When I play some balls, I get the idea of what shots will work on this wicket and against what bowlers. It is also important to respect the playing conditions. For example our plan was to target a boundary an over when the leg side boundary was shorter and take about 10 runs and nudge 6-7 runs an over from the other end”
“I have played a lot of one-day cricket at DDCA. There was a lot of competition and the wickets were bad, but eventually found a way to score runs. So I am just carrying forward that mindset here. At Kotla, wickets used to turn and we had quality fast bowlers, so we had to be very particular in shot selection.”
That grounding has served USA particularly well because the middle order had not always been the side’s strongest suit. Over the years, there have been occasions when a tall chase or a difficult middle-overs passage exposed a tendency to unravel under pressure. Milind’s arrival in August 2024 changed the complexion of that middle order, giving USA not only greater stability but also a batter capable of controlling precisely the kind of situations that had previously troubled them.
The numbers in winning causes illustrate just how transformative that presence has been. When Milind scores, USA generally win. His batting average in victories has now climbed beyond 110, a Bradmanesque figure that underlines how central his runs have been to the team’s rise. It is no coincidence that USA now stand on the brink of sealing top spot in World Cup League 2, needing only one victory from their remaining three games after an arduous three-year campaign.
The timing of his form could hardly be more significant. The World Cup qualifiers loom next year, and Milind’s stated hunger to get there is increasingly being reflected in performances that have gone beyond mere consistency. Back-to-back unbeaten hundreds in successful chases suggests an ODI batsman at the peak of his powers.
That sense of control has followed Milind in different forms through his career, and there is a neat piece of history linking his present to his past. During the 2018 IPL season with RCB, Milind was once voted the best footballer in the squad ahead of Kohli.
“He greeted me with the deadliest of smirks, almost as if to say, ‘I’ll see you in the field tomorrow,’” Milind recalled.
Nine years later, should this run continue and USA make it to the 2027 World Cup, the two former teammates could once again find themselves on the same field this time in a very different contest. Kohli’s ODI legacy is not something numbers over 28 innings can threaten. But if Milind keeps batting like this, he may yet arrive at the World Cup with a few ODI bragging rights of his own. And perhaps, after all these years, a chance to return the smirk.