ICC Champions Trophy: Top 5 highest successful run chases

With the increasing number of T20s being played all around the world, a total of 300 plus has become the norm in One Day Internationals and chasing down big totals has become quite easy over the past few years.

However, there have not been too many big totals scored in the ICC Champions Trophy since its inception. The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 might be an exception with the 300 run mark being crossed on a number of occasions.

In this article, we take a look at the top 5 run chases in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy.

#5 England vs West Indies, 2006 – Ahmedabad

With the tournament being held in India for the first time, the hosts failed to qualify for the semifinals. Instead it was West Indies, Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa who managed to qualify for the semifinals.

It was the 17^th match of the tournament between England and West Indies with the former already knocked out of the tournament.

After winning the toss, West Indies decided to bat first and put up a respectable total of 272 in their 50 overs. The universal boss Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo put on a partnership of 174 runs for the 2^nd wicket with both the batsmen scoring centuries.

In response, the England openers got the side off to a perfect start with both of them scoring half centuries. They lost their way in the middle but a Kevin Pietersen masterclass led the revival with England winning the match by three wickets with 9 balls to spare.

This was the 2^nd highest chase in the Champions Trophy.

#4 England vs South Africa, 1998 – Dhaka

It was the inaugural ICC Champions Trophy and it was known as the ICC Knockout Cup back then. There were no preliminary rounds in the tournament with eight teams taking part with a direct knockout.

England and South Africa took on each other in the first quarter-final of the tournament held in Dhaka. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, England put on a highly respectable total of 281 with the loss of seven wickets.

While most of the top order failed, lower order batsman Adam Hollioake smashed his way to a knock of 83 in 91 balls.

In response, almost all the South African batsmen performed well and won the match comfortably with more than three overs to spare. The Proteas went on to win the tournament – their first ICC tournament win.

#3 England vs Sri Lanka, 2013 – London

With the tournament being held for the first time, it was a memorable one for the Indians as they went on to lift the trophy for the 2^nd time with the first one being in 2002.

England And Sri Lanka qualified for the semifinals but they took on each other in the group stage at the Kennington Oval in London.

After winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bowl first. England put up a big total of 293 in 50 overs with the loss of seven wickets. Along with Alastair Cook’s half century, the middle order consisting of Jonathan Trott and Joe Root did extremely well with sublime half centuries.half century, the middle order consisting of Jonathan Trott and Joe Root did extremely well with sublime half centuries.

In response, it was a Kumar Sangakkara masterclass as he produced one of the best innings of his life as he scored 134 in 135 balls with 12 fours to his name. He took Sri Lanka over the line comfortable with 17 balls to spare.

#2 England vs Bangladesh, 2017 – London

The tournament was held in England for the second time in a row with India looking to defend the title. In the first match of the tournament, hosts England and Bangladesh took on each other in the group A encounter at The Kennington Oval in London.

After winning the toss, England opted to field first. Led by Tamim Iqbal’s magnificent century, Bangladesh posted a spectacular total of 305 in 50 overs with the loss of six wickets. They came into the tournament as one of the dark horses and were looking to surprise the hosts.

In response, England lost Jason Roy extremely early. However, Alex Hales, Joe Root, and Eoin Morgan took on the Bangladeshi bowlers with ease and ensured the hosts win with 16 balls to spare.

#1 Sri Lanka vs India, 2017 – London

After winning their first match against Pakistan with ease, the Indian cricket team came into the match against Sri Lanka as they heavy favourites and were expected to win the match with ease.

They were well on their way to do so after putting on a total of 321 in 50 overs with Shikhar Dhawan smashing a magnificent century. MS Dhoni too chipped in with a quickfire knock of 63 in 52 balls.

The Indian fans were expecting the Men in Blue to come away with an easy victory but the Sri Lankan batsmen had other ideas in mind. They defied the odds and took on the Indian bowlers with ease with Kushal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka scoring magnificent knocks of 76 and 89 respectively.

However, India did manage to qualify for the finals where they are taking on Pakistan.