Exploring the four highest successful run chases in ODI cricket history

The list makes for extremely unwanted reading for any fans of Australian success

Fresh off the back of most bat-dominant 50-over World Cup in the history of cricket, the best bowlers in the game look set to cop yet more punishment as the Indian Premier League gets underway for another season.

Never before has the ball been sent out of the ground with the regularity that cricket fans currently enjoy and, as this Insights Lab piece on scoreboard-pressure indicates, no score seems too big to be chased down anymore. 

Bigger bats, the introduction of helpful fielding restrictions and a new ball at either end all contribute to batsmen’s new-found joy in the middle. However, a look at the list of the highest successful run chases in ODI cricket indicates that the days of the undefendable totals haven’t quite arrived yet. 

Bangladesh’s 322/4 is the highest successful run chase in 2015 and is one of four winning totals of over 300 in the calendar year. 

Considering we are only in April, there looks to be plenty more occasions in store when scoreboard-pressure doesn’t take effect. But at the moment, there are 17 higher winning ODI totals for teams batting second than Bangladesh’s. Let’s remind ourselves of the top four: 

1) South Africa 438/9 vs Australia, March 2006 

Ricky Ponting’s 164 off 105 balls looked have propelled Australia to victory at the half-way point, but Herschelle Gibbs had other ideas. 

Coming in at number three after Boeta Dippenaar had been dismissed early on, the right-hander scored just seven sixes in his total of 175, but still flayed the bowling to all parts in his 111-ball knock.

When he was out with the final ball of the 32nd over, South Africa still needed 136 runs to seal their famous win. They were guided to those unforgettable celebrations, off the final ball, by wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, who ended 50 not out, and the forgotten Johan van der Wath. 

The latter bludgeoned 35 off just 18 deliveries to provide much-needed support to Boucher, but only played three more ODIs after that knock. 

2) India 362/1 vs Australia, October 2013 

Half centuries from Aaron Finch, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell all helped the Aussies post a formidable total at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur during this bi-lateral series.

The visitors certainly wouldn’t have expected their Indian opponents to chase down the total so easily, but that is exactly what happened.

39 balls remained and just one wicket had been sent back to the hutch when the winning runs were struck, with all three batsmen to take guard thoroughly outplaying the Australian bowlers. 

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan shared an opening stand of 176 and when the latter was removed by James Faulkner for 95, Virat Kohli strode to the crease to embark on an unbeaten partnership with his opener to see the side home. 

Sharma finished unbeaten on 141, scoring his third ODI hundred, while Kohli registered the 16th of his career in ending exactly 100 not out. 

3) India 351/4 vs Australia, October 2013 

A mere matter of weeks later, India made the tourists suffer once again, although this one went a lot closer to the wire. 

Watson and Bailey continued their good form with tons for the visitors, the latter scoring 156, but it was once again Dhawan and Kohli who were the star performers for the hosts. 

Dhawan managed the five runs he missed out last time to record his century, before again falling to Faulkner, while Kohli again finished with a red-inker, scoring 115 in the win. 

Late wickets gave Australia a sniff of snuffing out the Indians’ chase, but the ice-cool MS Dhoni ensured that wouldn’t be the case with a brisk 25. 

4) New Zealand 350/9 vs Australia, February 2007 

Playing against Australia looks to be the key to sides chasing down huge ODI totals. In fact, the Aussies have been on the receiving end of all five of the highest successful chases in the format’s history. 

The brute force of Matt Hayden set them up this time, with his 181 at Hamilton containing 11 fours and 10 maximums. 

However, unlike all of the other chases on this list, the Black Caps didn’t get home on the back of top-order hitting, instead relying on a brutal sixth-wicket partnership. 

Craig McMillan and then number seven batsman Brendon McCullum came together in the 17th over with the score on just 116 after Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken and Mitchell Johnson had swung the momentum further in the Aussies favour. 

The 165 the pair put on came at 6.73 runs per over and saw McMillan record his third ODI century. When he departed, McCullum continued the assault on the visitors’ attack, ending up on 86 not out. Amazingly, his maiden 50-over ton was still some 30 appearances away.