Top 5 quickest 250-plus run-chases by India in terms of balls remaining in ODIs ft. 2023 World Cup

Team India asserted their dominance against Afghanistan to win their second match of the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11.

With their emphatic eight-wicket win, India created a superb record of registering their biggest-ever victory (in terms of balls remaining) for targets of over 250 runs in ODI history. India chased down a total of 273 runs in the second innings within 35 overs, winning the game with 90 balls to spare.

Their successful run-chase was built on the back of a resounding innings by Rohit Sharma. The India skipper hammered 131 runs in only 84 balls. He got his ton in only 63 balls, which is also now the fastest ODI World Cup century by an Indian batter.

Virat Kohli (55*) and Ishan Kishan (47) also chipped in with decent knocks as India didn't let any breathing space for the Afghan bowlers and won the game in a lopsided manner.

On that note, let's take a look at India's five largest ODI victories (by balls remaining) where they chased down 250+ targets in more detail.

#5 63 balls - India beat England during the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo

At number five on the list is the match where Team India recorded an eight-wicket win with 63 balls remaining against England during the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo.

After England opted to bat first, the Indian bowlers did a good job to reduce them to 153/5 at one stage.

However, a brilliant lower-order innings from Ian Blackwell helped England to a total of 269/7 in their 50 overs. Blackwell played a beautiful knock of 82 off only 68 balls, which included six fours and three sixes, while Nick Knight (50 off 70) also scored a fifty.

England were relieved to post a competitive total on the board. However, they hardly had any idea about the storm that was about to come. Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly smashed centuries and put up an opening stand of 192 runs.

Sehwag was the aggressor in the partnership as he smashed 126 runs in 104 deliveries, which consisted of 21 fours and a six. Ganguly too accelerated in the latter half of his innings and remained unbeaten on 117 off 109 balls.

India thus won the match comfortably, with Sehwag adjudged the Man of the Match for his blitzkrieg knock.

#4 79 balls - India beat Ireland at the 2015 ODI World Cup in Hamilton

Shikhar Dhawan acknowledging his ton in the India v Ireland - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup Match [Getty]

Another ICC tournament match features on this list as India beat Ireland with 79 balls to spare during the 2015 ODI World Cup at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.

Opting to bat first, the Irish unit made 259 runs in the first innings. They started their innings on a great note, with skipper William Porterfield (67) and Paul Stirling (42) adding 89 runs for the first wicket.

However, Ireland stuttered against spinners and from looking set for a 300-plus total at one point, they collapsed to being all out in 49 overs.

Apart from Niall O'Brien, who scored 75, none of the Irish middle-order or lower-order batters managed to make a substantial contribution. For India, Mohammed Shami took three wickets in his nine overs for 41.

In reply, India suffered no major difficulty in chasing down 260 runs. Openers Rohit Sharma (64) and Shikhar Dhawan exploited the inexperience of Irish bowlers to strike India's third-highest ODI World Cup opening stand of 174 runs. This, more or less, settled the matter for their side.

While Rohit hit three boundaries and as many sixes each in his knock of 64, Dhawan exemplified his red-hot form by stroking 11 boundaries and five sixes in his 85-ball 100.

After Ireland dismissed both Rohit and Dhawan within five overs, Virat Kohli (44*) and Ajinkya Rahane (33*) continued the charge by adding 70 runs for the third wicket in only 55 balls.

As a result, India chased down the target in 36.5 overs.

#3 80 balls - India beat Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI in 2021 in Colombo

Kuldeep Yadav mobbed by his teammates [Getty Images]

With the first-choice team touring England, India sent a second-string side for an away white-ball series against Sri Lanka in July 2021.

Led by Shikhar Dhawan, India started the series off with a dominant performance, beating the hosts by seven wickets with 80 balls remaining in the first ODI in Colombo.

Batting first, Sri Lanka made a steady start by not losing any wickets in the first nine overs. However, Yuzvendra Chahal broke the opening partnership on the first ball of his spell. He sent Avishka Fernando (33) back to the pavilion in the tenth over.

Soon after, Kuldeep Yadav scalped two wickets in four deliveries to push Sri Lanka on the backfoot at 117/4. A 49-run partnership between Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka helped Sri Lanka cross the 150-run mark.

Since India's tight lines didn't allow Sri Lanka to build big partnerships, it seemed like the Islanders would post a total under 250. However, Chamira Karunaratne's 35-ball 43* ensured that the home team had 263 runs to defend in the second innings.

The visitors hunted down the target in 36.4 overs, largely due to Prithvi Shaw's blazing start. Shaw made 43 off 24 balls and helped India pile up 57 runs within the first five overs.

Birthday boy Ishan Kishan, who was playing his maiden ODI game, smashed the first ball he faced for a six down the ground. He made 59 runs off 42 balls and stitched up a partnership of 85 runs with Dhawan.

Dhawan himself played a captain's knock and remained unbeaten at 86 to see India sail over the finish line with 80 balls to spare.

#2 80 balls - India beat Sri Lanka in the CB series in 2012 in Hobart

Virat Kohli pumped up after his ton vs SL in 2012 [Getty Images]

In all probability, this was India's best-ever run-chase in ODI history. It came when a valiant batting effort saw the Men in Blue chase down a huge total of 321 runs in just 36.4 overs against Sri Lanka during Match 11 of the CB series in 2012.

The pressure was immense for India ahead of the fixture. It was a must-win game for the MS Dhoni-led side. Moreover, they needed a bonus point as well in order to have any chance of qualifying for the finals of the series.

With this, India unsurprisingly elected to field first after winning the toss. It looked like the Indian bowlers didn't show up at all as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara hammered them to all parts of the ground.

The two Lankan legends piled up a second-wicket partnership of 200 runs and a mammoth first-innings total was inevitable.

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While Sangakkara was dismissed after his 105 runs, Dilshan made a superlative 160* off 165, which led Sri Lanka to 320/4 in 50 overs.

India had a gargantuan task of chasing down 321 runs inside the 40 overs. However, the Indian didn't give up and came out all guns firing. India's legendary openers, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, gave India a flying start. When both the openers had been dismissed, Indian score was 86/2 of 9.2 overs.

Virat Kohli had already established himself as the hottest young talent in world cricket. With this knock, the 23-year-old showed he is a bona fide future great as the Delhi batsman smacked 133 off just 86 deliveries to guide India home.

The Bellerive Oval in Hobart was treated to something special that night as Kohli went after the Sri Lankan bowling. He mainly targetted Lasith Malinga, regarded as a master of limited-overs bowling with his yorkers and slower deliveries.

Everything the Lankans tried remained futile as Kohli managed to pierce tiny gaps to clobber 16 fours and two sixes. He was involved in two big partnerships for India.

Firstly, Kohli and Gautam Gambhir (63) added 115 runs for the third wicket before Suresh Raina (40* off 24) joined hands with the talented superstar to amass an unbeaten stand of 120 runs.

Smashing at a strike rate of 154.65, Kohli's unconquered knock is still considered one of his best-ever ODI innings by many fans and pundits alike.

#1 90 balls - India beat Afghanistan at the 2023 ODI World Cup in Delhi

India recently beat Afghanistan comprehensively at the 2023 ODI World Cup [Getty Images]

The latest entrant on the list, Team India recorded their largest victory (by balls remaining) while chasing down a 250+ run total in ODI history on October 11, 2023.

As mentioned earlier, they achieved the feat during a group stage game of the ongoing 2023 Men's ODI World Cup against Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, who opted to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, were on course to pile up more than 300 runs in the first innings.

After all, they were at 183/3 in 34.1 overs, with both skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) and Azmatullah Omarzai (62) well set on the crease.

However, after an off-cutter bamboozled Omarzai, the Afghanistan innings fizzled out. They were 211/4 at the 40-over mark but could only accumulate 61 more runs to end up with a first-innings score of 272/8.

Jasprit Bumrah bowled a magnificent spell of 4/39 on a track that had nothing for the bowlers.

The Indian batters made a mockery of the total as they chased down the 273-run target in only 35 overs. Rohit Sharma, in particular, played a blinder of an innings to entertain the crowd.

Utilising the great batting conditions to his advantage, the Indian opener tormented the Afghan bowling attack and notched up his seventh ODI World Cup hundred. He now has the most hundreds for any batsman in the history of the showpiece event.

The India captain put the game to bed within his stay of 84 balls, in which he scored 131 runs with the help of 16 boundaries and five lusty maximums.

Kishan also made 47 while Virat Kohli's homecoming also ended in superb fashion as the Delhi boy made his 68th ODI fifty before smashing the winning runs for India.

Interestingly, India's batting run rate of 7.8 in the second innings is now the highest run-rate in successful run-chases of 250+ scores in ODI World Cup history.