There was an era when the longest format of the game, Test cricket, controlled the scene with stadiums thronged by fans. But, with the introduction of the One Day Internationals, followed by T20 format, the 5-day game began to lose its sheen. The first One Day International was played between arch-rivals Australia and England on 5 January 1971 at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Ever since, the highest totals in the ODI format have been fast changing.
As opposed to Test Cricket, the newer versions are all about fearless batting. The bowling department has to tighten the screws by picking up wickets at regular intervals.
The bowlers toil hard as the pitch becomes a batsman’s paradise. This was epitomized by the English batsmen against Pakistan, scoring the highest ODI total of 444-3 and leaving behind Sri Lanka’s record of 443 runs.
Keeping in mind the demolition of Pakistani bowlers at Nottingham, we have compiled a list of the highest ODI totals for each team.
#1 444/3 – England vs Pakistan at Nottingham, 30th August 2016
A historic show of batting led by Alex Hales saw the English team set a new world record for highest team score in a One-Day International against Pakistan in Nottingham on August 30.
Hales, who fired on all cylinders, struck 171 runs while Jos Buttler scored England's fastest 50 from only 22 balls. The Three Lions breezed to a mammoth 444-3 and clinched the series after Pakistan failed to chase the target.
Hales’s knock was the highest ever-individual ODI score by an England batsman and together with Joe Root (85), a partnership of 248 runs was put on the board for the second wicket.
The Pakistani team struggled to build partnerships and only managed to accumulate 279 runs.
The last ball of the first innings saw wicket keeper Jos Buttler, scourge Hasan Ali’s delivery over the extra-cover for a fantastic four and ensure a new record. The crowd of over 17,000 fans enjoyed every ball of the game. The total of 444 now features in the Guinness Book of World Records.
#2 443/9 – Sri Lanka vs Netherlands at Amstelveen, 4th July 2006
This is the second highest ODI team total and the highest for the Sri Lankan Team. The Sri Lankans scored a mammoth total of 439 against Netherlands when the Asian giants toured the minnows for a series of two ODIs.
This was the first of the two games, with the visitors electing to bat first. The start of Sri Lanka’s innings wasn’t very electrifying, with Upul Tharanga being dismissed for only 18 runs. But his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya went on to score 157 off only 104 balls, an innings marked by 24 fours and a six.
The hitting prowess of Tillakaratne Dilshan was on full show as well, who came in to bat at number 5, scoring an unbeaten 117 to push Sri Lanka to its largest ODI total to this day. The visitors won by 195 runs.
#3 439/2 – South Africa vs West Indies at Johannesburg, 18th January 2015
AB de Villiers added one more page to the record books when he scored the fastest ODI century, off just 31 balls to overshadow the previous fastest by Corey Anderson off 36 balls, as South Africa beat their own record of 438/2 at the Wanderers by racking up 439, their highest ODI total.
The century by De Villiers was the third in a massive South African total – also the first time when three centuries were scored in an ODI innings - which saw Rilee Rossouw hit his maiden century along with Hashim Amla producing his personal best of 153 not out. The Proteas beat the Caribbeans by 148 runs.
#4 434/4 – Australia vs South Africa at Johannesburg, 12th March 2006
Australia won the toss and scored 434, riding on Ricky Ponting's 164 and Mike Hussey's 81 off 51 after Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich gave their team a brilliant opening stand of 97 runs.
On the other hand, South Africa lost their opener Boeta Dippenaar with just 3 runs on the board. However, this didn't stop Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs from thrashing the Australian bowlers to every corner of the ground. Together they stitched a 187-run partnership in only 21.3 overs.
Gibbs scored a towering 175 off just 111 balls, hitting 21 fours and 7 sixes. After his dismissal at 299, the Australians felt they were in for a chance but to their dismay, Mark Boucher had other ideas. He kept rotating among the tail-enders helping South Africa reach the target of 434 with 1 ball and 1 wicket to spare. He was unbeaten on 50 off 43 balls.
This match has gone down in the folklores as the best ODI of all time.
#5 418/5 – India vs West Indies at Indore, 8th December 2011
This game created waves in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Virender Sehwag broke Sachin Tendulkar's record of the highest individual ODI score, making 219 off 149 deliveries, which included 25 fours and 7 sixes. Sehwag's performance led Team India to 418 for 5, which is their highest ODI total, and sealed the deal in the five-match series against West Indies.
Gautam Gambhir as a second fiddle scored 67 off 67 and Suresh Raina scored 55 off 44. India won by 153 runs as the visitors struggled to play big shots since the beginning and bundled out on 265 in the 50th over. Denesh Ramdin high-scored for them with 96 runs off 96 balls.
#6 402/2 – New Zealand vs Ireland at Aberdeen, 1st July 2008
It was a day of records for the Kiwis at Mannofield Park in Aberdeen, as they completely outclassed Ireland as they registered a win by record margin of 290 runs. New Zealand, losing the toss and put in to bat, scored as much as they pleased with the threadbare Irish attack.
Shining performers were James Marshall, who scored 161 runs and Brendon Mccullum with 166, both hitting their first ODI centuries. The former NZ skipper struck 12 fours and 10 sixes in his whirlwind innings. The opening partnership of 266 runs fell only 20 runs short of the world record, created by Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga of Sri Lanka against England.
#7 385/7 – Pakistan vs Bangladesh at Dambulla, 21st June 2010
In the 5th game of Asia Cup 2010, Pakistan innings went off like a rocket. Shahzaib Hasan, who was playing only his second one-day international, cracked a 36 ball half century. This was followed by Imran Farhat, who continued to build a partnership during middle overs with youngsters Asad Shafiq and Umar Amin.
But the real momentum came in the form of boom-boom Shahid Afridi who struck 4 sixes and 17 fours and completed his century in his 53 balls, which also is the 6th fastest ever. The swashbuckling batsman went on to score 124 runs from 60 balls to power Pakistan to a daunting total of 385.
Junaid Siddique of Bangladesh scored 97 of 114 balls, but without any quick scoring and sustained partnerships, Pakistan won the game by 139 runs.
#8 372/2 – West Indies vs Zimbabwe at Canberra, 24th February 2015
A team full of power hitters, West Indies scored 372-2 against New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup group match. One man helped them achieve the exemplary feat, Chris Gayle, who scored 215 runs from 147 balls, with 10 fours and 16 sixes, flying either over the straight boundary or into the stands.
At the other end, Marlon Samuels achieved his highest ODI score, playing as a second fiddle while building a partnership of 372 with Gayle, the highest for any wicket in ODIs. Zimbabwe, with the help of an 80-run partnership between Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor managed 289, losing by 73 runs.
#9 351/7 – Zimbabwe vs Kenya at Mombasa, 29th January 2009
This was the second ODI of Zimbabwe’s tour of Kenya at the Mombasa Sports Club Ground and Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening partnership between H Masakadza and V Sibanda added only 44-runs. However, Stuart Matskenyeri’s 90-off-95 and innings from middle order batsmen Malcolm Waller (63-off-54) and Elton Chigumbura (68-off-29) ensured that Zimbabwe reach a mammoth total of 351 for the loss 7 wickets, which is their highest ODI total till date.
Kenya’s batsmen were not able to perform under pressure and wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Ultimately, the visitors won the match by 151 runs.
#10 329/6 – Bangladesh vs Pakistan at Mirpur, 17th April 2015
Bangladesh scored their highest ODI total when Pakistan toured them for an ODI series in April 2015. Riding on the brilliance of Tamim Iqbal (132-off-135) and Mushfiqur Rahim (106-off-77), the Tigers recorded their biggest ODI total of 329 runs. Shakib Al Hasan’s cameo of 31 off 27 was also influential.
Pakistan could not find any solid partnership and struggled in their chase. The individual best came from Azhar Ali (72-off-73) and Mohammed Rizwan (67-off-58). Bangladesh won the match by 79 runs as both Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny picked up 3 wickets each.
Also worth a mention is New Zealand’s 397/5 against Zimbabwe on 24 August 2005 which came off 44 overs, giving us the highest run-rate by a team in their ODI innings, at 9.02 runs per over.
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