Run feasts: Top 5 ODI matches with highest aggregate run-tally
The One-Day International cricket is easily the most evolved format in International cricket since its inception. The batting dynamics have improved along with the rules which started to favour the batters. This helped in increasing the frequency of 300+ team totals and also the total of 400+. However, till date, only three matches in ODI history have witnessed an aggregate of over 800 runs with none of them touching 900.
Here are the top five aggregated matches in the history of ODI cricket:
747 runs – India vs England, Cuttack 2017:
The ODI series at the start of 2017 when India hosted England turned out to be a high-scoring one. After India chased down a 350+ target in the first ODI, the 2nd game turned out to be crucial for England. India, who batted first in Cuttack, lost three wickets for 25 runs inside five overs. But Yuvraj Singh (150 off 127) and MS Dhoni (134 off 122) put on a record partnership of 256 runs for the 4th wicket in only 37.4 overs. India finished with 381/6.
What a match! India edge a high scoring thriller in Cuttack, holding off England’s chase to win by 15 runs and seal the series #IndvEng pic.twitter.com/55To0qdSQG
— ICC (@ICC) January 19, 2017
In reply, England made a solid start reaching 170/2 in 26 overs but lost three wickets in quick space to reach 206/5 by 32nd over. Captain Eoin Morgan batted along with his team’s middle and lower order to get England close to the target. But Morgan’s 81-ball 102 could only take England to 366/8.
763 runs – England vs New Zealand, The Oval 2015:
After the 2015 World Cup debacle, England opted for an ultra-aggressive approach in ODIs. In the 2nd ODI at the Oval, visiting New Zealand side posted a mammoth total of 398/5. Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 119 from 96 balls was a solo effort as none of the other batters scored more than 30 runs. England kept losing wickets in the chase but the scoring rate was kept in check.
They looked favourites to win the game with 241/4 on the board after 30 overs. Skipper Eoin Morgan smashed 88 runs in only 47 balls but was dismissed in the 36th over shortly after Buttler. The home team were 275/7 in 36.1 overs but Plunkett and Adil Rashid kept the fight on. England needed 54 from 38 balls but a spell of rain made things difficult for England. They ended with 365/9 in the restricted 46 overs and lost by 12 runs. A total of 763 runs came in 96 overs in the game which could have close to 800 if not for the rain.
807 runs – West Indies vs England, Georgetown 2019:
The only match with 800-plus runs aggregated in the last ten years. The match between West Indies and England hosted by Georgetown is a game that was played in the first quarter of 2019. Jos Buttler smashed 150 from only 77 balls with as many as 25 boundaries and put on 204 for the 4th wicket in only 20.2 overs with Eoin Morgan (103 off 88). Their centuries helped England to post a huge total of 418 for the loss of six wickets.
In Feb ’19 we disembarked the then ITC Sports Cricket Cruise in Grenada for the 4th ODI between England Cricket & @Windies Cricket.
Buttler was on fire, hitting 150 off 77 deliveries but the Windies fought back, with Gayle hitting 14 sixes of his own.. Enjoy! ??? pic.twitter.com/DDidL0rjs9
— Spectate (@SpectateTravel) March 18, 2020
Chris Gayle starred in the chase smashing 14 maximums and 11 fours on his way to a 97-ball 162. He got out at the score of 294/5 in the 35th over after bringing down the required tally to 125 runs. Carlos Brathwaite scored 50 from only 36 balls as West Indies stood 30 runs away from a win in 17 balls with four wickets in hand. Adil Rashid, bowling the 48th over, took all the remaining four wickets in the space of five balls to bowl West Indies out for 389 and seal a 29-run win for England.
825 runs – India vs Sri Lanka, Rajkot 2009:
The 5-match ODI series in 2009 between India and Sri Lanka began at the high-scoring venue in Rajkot where India piled a huge total of 414/7 thanks to Virender Sehwag’s 146 from only 102 balls. India looked set for an even bigger score having made 308/1 by the end of the 35th over. Sri Lanka, in reply, found themselves ahead of the required rate as Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 160 from only 124 balls.
Kumar Sangakkara smashed 90 from just 43 balls by taking on the spinners as Sri Lanka needed only 72 runs from the last ten overs with six wickets in hand. They got 40 runs at the cost of one wicket in the next five overs but failed to score a boundary in the following four overs. This left Sri Lanka needing 11 from the last over where they failed to find a boundary and lost the game by three runs. The match witnessed a total of 825 runs for the loss of 15 wickets.
872 runs – South Africa vs Australia, Johannesburg 2006:
The 2006 Johannesburg ODI between South Africa and Australia tops the list of highest aggregated ODI matches with a total of 872 runs. It is in fact the highest aggregate match in List A history as well. Australia, who batted first in this series decider, made 434/4 which was the then highest total in ODI cricket. Their captain Ricky Ponting hit 164 from only 105 balls with as many as 22 boundaries.
South Africa reached 279/2 in only 30 overs as their skipper Graeme Smith struck a 55-ball 90 while Herschelle Gibbs scored 175 from only 111 balls. But the Proteas kept losing wickets regularly and needed an unbeaten fifty from Mark Boucher to take them over the line with one ball and a wicket in hand. South Africa’s successful chase of 435 is still the highest in ODI format and also in International cricket.
