5 Highest match aggregates in ODI history

ODI Cricket has evolved in the last 10-15 years. Scores of 300 plus occur quite often in ODI. With the globalization of T20 cricket, the game has shifted more towards the batsmen's favour.

Likes of the powerplay, free hit have been introduced to enthral the cricket lovers. With that, the margin of error for the bowlers has diminished over the years. Also, the advent of two new balls in ODI Cricket, one being used from each end of the wicket has made the bowler's life more pathetic.

Batting has reached a different level altogether with some unorthodox shot being manipulated, which seemed to be intractable a few years ago. Batsmen do not hesitate to attack the bowlers from the word go. Preferences of the heavy bat and flat tracks nowadays, make the batting look easy.

An aggregate of 700 runs has been surpassed 17 times in ODI history with 16 of those coming in the last 10 years. Windies - England match being the latest to that addition.

Here we look at the top 5 match aggregates in ODI Cricket.

---

#1 South Africa vs Australia, 872 runs (Johannesburg, 2006)

Ricky Ponting showed his class with 164, while Herschelle Gibbs overshadowed Ponting, with an exquisite 175 to guide his team to a world record chase

Regarded as one of the greatest matches of ODI Cricket, South Africa prevailed the mammoth total of 434, which is still being the highest successful run chase of ODI history.

The cricketing world was awestruck by Australia's total of 434 in the first innings, which was a world record at that time. En-route 434, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting pulverized the South African bowlers with his magnificent 164 runs off just 105 balls, as he reprised his World Cup-winning innings at the same venue 3 years ago. Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich gave the start with scoring 55 and 79 respectively. With Mike Hussey's 51 balls 81 runs blitzkrieg, Australia posted the massive total.

As South Africa's uphill task began, skipper Graeme Smith was equal to the task as he blazed 90 from 55 balls. Herschelle Gibbs's 175 from 121 balls, was the defining innings of the match, as he took the bowlers to all parts of the ground with his effortless striking. Van der Wath's quickfire 35 and Mark Boucher's cool-headed 50* guided South Africa to engrave their name in the history with the world record chase of 434.

#2 India vs Sri Lanka, 827 runs (Rajkot, 2009)

India snatched a thrilling 3 runs victory over Sri Lanka despite their record 414

Sri Lanka fell just three runs short of completing the second highest successful run chase in ODI history. Ashish Nehra defended 11 runs in the last over to restrict the Lanka Lions to 411.

After India's record 414, Sri Lanka came with a positive reply with Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan's counter attack. Opening stand managed to score 188 after Upul Tharanga got out with a well-made 67 in the 24th over. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara came to the crease and wreaked havoc with the bat and scored 90 from 43 balls. Sri Lanka's winning chances came to a halt as soon as Dilshan felt after a brilliant knock of 160. Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar's tight spells ensure the Indians to a thrilling victory.

In the first innings, Virender Sehwag's scintillating knock of 146 along with Tendulkar's resilient 69 and Dhoni's bludgeoned 72, helped the Indians to went past 400 for the first time.

#3 Windies vs England, 807 runs (Grenada, 2019)

Out of 807 runs, 536 were scored in boundaries with a world record 46 sixes during the match

Recently concluded 4th ODI match between Windies and England was a spectacle of numerous records. 46 sixes were hit, the most in an ODI game and also 64 boundaries en-route 807 runs slugfest in St George's.

The visitors had a steady start courtesy of their openers. Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales both made a solid contribution with 56 and 82 respectively. The momentum was shifted by the duo of Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, with their record 4th wicket stand of 204. Morgan continued his purple patch with a flawless 103 while Buttler decimated the Windies attack with his withering 150 off just 77 balls. He took only 31 balls to reach 150 from 50. England struck 24 sixes, most by a team in 50 overs and posted a colossal 418.

Chris Gayle carried the team's hope single-handedly of chasing down the huge total before getting out to Stokes in the 35th over. On the way to his onslaught of 97 balls 162, he went past 10000 runs landmark, becoming only the second Windies batsman after Brian Lara to achieve the feat. With his 14 over boundaries, he also became the first cricketer in history to hit 500 sixes in international cricket. Half-centuries from Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite were not enough to conquer 418 as England were able to pick up wickets in quick successions with winning the game by 29 runs.

#4 England vs New Zealand, 763 runs (The Oval, 2015)

The sheer brilliance of Kane Williamson (93) and Ross Taylor (119*) dominated the English attack

The Oval witnessed an epic encounter with New Zealand defeating the home side by 13 runs (D/L method), which could have gone to either side. Southee and Boult's combination of brilliant athleticism with their presence of mind to take an outstanding catch in the long-on boundary ensured New Zealand's victory in the penultimate over of England's chase.

New Zealand managed to post a massive total of 398 with the sheer dominance of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Taylor scored his 13th century by squandering 119*. He was well supported by Williamson, showing his majestic batting skills with 93 runs, missing out on a deserving 100. Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi's cameo with the bat, in the end, took New Zealand total to 398.

England was revised to a target of 379 from 46 overs as rain took away few overs. They got off to a flier with the initiatives from the openers. Alex Hales manage to went past 50 before getting out to Santner. Eoin Morgan's stunning 47 balls 88 took England close to the total. 8th wicket partnership of 76 runs between Liam Plunkett ( 44 off 30) and Adil Rashid (34 off 26) reignited the spark of victory to some extent. But England's hope of an upset was ended with the denouement of Rashid's wicket in the penultimate over.

#5 India vs England, 747 runs (Cuttack, 2017)

Stalwarts Yuvraj Singh (150) and MS Dhoni (134) had a nostalgia 256 runs partnership

India beat England by 15 runs in the thrilling match to seal the series. 100 boundaries (81 fours and 19 sixes) were hit over the course of the match along with 3 individual hundreds.

The day primarily belonged to India's stalwarts Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. They put together a nostalgia partnership of 256 runs from 230 balls, with helping their side to reach a gigantic total of 381. Having spent three years nowhere near the team, Yuvraj scored his career-best 150 off 127 balls with his vintage strokeplay and elegance. It was his first hundred since the 2011 World Cup. Dhoni played a perfect partner in crime role as he clobbered 134 runs off 122 balls with becoming the first Indian batsman to hit 200 sixes in ODI cricket.

England skipper Eoin Morgan's heroics nearly pulled off a stunning victory as he scored a terrific 101 off 88 balls. Eventually, Bumrah's brilliance in the field leads to his run out in the penultimate over. Earlier opener Jason Roy made an excellent 82 to provide England with the coveted start. Joe Root (54 runs) and Moeen Ali (55 runs) also contributed in England's steep run chase to a certain extent. India's spin twin Ravichandran Ashwin (3-65) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-45) played a crucial role in India's hard-fought win.