4) South Africa 438/9 vs Australia at Johannesburg on 12th March 2006
Until 2006, no team had ever managed to score 400 in an ODI. So When Australia won the toss and elected to bat in the final ODI against South Africa at the Wanderers and became the first team to post a total in excess of 400 thanks to a century from Ricky Ponting and fifties from the three of the top four, they could have been forgiven for thinking that the series was done and dusted.
After all, no team had scored even 350 in the second innings. But what happened next will go down as probably the greatest game in the history of ODIs as South Africa pulled off the impossible by chasing down Australia’s target of 435 with a ball to spare.
They got there despite losing the first wicket in the second over and with four of the top seven not even crossing 20. However, Herschelle Gibbs’ 175 and a brilliant 90 from captain Graeme Smith set the platform for Mark Boucher to score a fifty and win the game with a ball to spare. By the time, the Proteas eventually got home, not only did they have the world record for the highest successful run chase in ODIs but also ensured Australia’s Mick Lewis finished the game with the most runs conceded in an ODI, a record that stands to this day.
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