3 times a team scored less runs than one opposition player in ODI cricket

On the back of some superlative performances by Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj, Team India scripted history on Sunday (January 15). The Men in Blue registered a gargantuan win by 317 runs in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, January 15.

After opting to bat first on what seemed like a docile wicket at the Greenfield Stadium, the hosts posted an enormous total of 390/5 in their allotted 50 overs. While Rohit Sharma scored a well-made 42 to set the stage for India, Shubman Gill took his innings forward and recorded his maiden ODI ton (116) on Indian soil.

Virat Kohli, who walked into the middle in the 16th over, kept ticking along on the other end. He put up a masterclass of sheer dominant batting and clobbered 13 fours and eight sixes during his unbeaten innings of 166 from just 110 balls.

Even if the outcome was inevitable, the Lankan batters' meek surrender in the second innings was startling to witness. Mohammed Siraj's fiery new-ball spell saw the guests reduced to 37/5 inside the powerplay.

Team India have set a new record 🇮🇳🫡 https://t.co/57qXivFUZT

With Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav sharing a couple of wickets each, India quickly wrapped up the Sri Lankan unit inside 22 overs. The Dasun Shanaka-led side ended the series in a humiliating fashion as they could only score a paltry 73 in the game.

Interestingly enough, two Indian batters, with their individual scores on Sunday, outscored Sri Lanka's entire team total.

Kohli, who hit 166 not out, scored 93 more than what Sri Lanka could manage. Gill's 116 runs off 97 balls, too, turned out to be 43 more than what the guests ended up amassing as a unit.

Credit must also go to the Indian bowlers, who made life difficult for the Lankan batters and helped the hosts bundle them out at a nugatory total.

However, this wasn't the first instance where the team's total turned out to be less than what a single opposition player managed to score in the same ODI. Here is a compilation of three other occasions where a team scored fewer runs than one opposition player in ODI cricket.

#3 Yuvraj Singh - (102 off 85 balls) scored 26 runs more than Bangladesh's 76/10 in 2003

#OnThisDay in 2003, @YUVSTRONG12 scored his Maiden ODI Century - 102* (85 balls, 9x4, 4x6) vs Bangladesh at Dhaka. https://t.co/fGUKUdGH6v

Following India's heartbreaking loss against Australia in the finals of the 2003 ODI World Cup, Yuvraj Singh gave the Indian fans something to cheer about when he scored his maiden ODI ton in a Tri-series game against Bangladesh.

The left-hander displayed his class even as his teammates struggled with the bat. His unbeaten 102-run knock helped India reach 276 runs before they were bowled out in the 50th over.

However, this turned out to be more than adequate to defend. The Indian bowling attack was ruthless on the day and bundled Bangladesh out for only 76 runs.

Yuvraj's 102 runs proved to be 26 more than what Bangladesh posted in the fixture.

#2 Fakhar Zaman - (210* off 156) scored 55 runs more than Zimbabwe's 155/10 in 2018

Fakhar Zaman - 210* (Man of the Match)
Zimbabwe - 155

Zimbabwe lost to Fakhar Zaman by 55 runs https://t.co/oraEqowcEc

When Pakistan toured Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI rubber in 2018, opening batter Fakhar Zaman created history by becoming the first-ever Pakistan batter to smash an ODI double hundred.

In the fourth ODI in Bulawayo, the southpaw amassed 210 runs and left the Zimbabwean bowlers clueless with his sheer power and brilliance.

Courtesy of his knock, Pakistan put up 399 runs on the board. However, Zimbabwe failed to get anywhere close to the target. They not only lost the game by 244 runs but also fell short of Fakhar’s individual score by 55 runs.

Leg-spinner Shadab Khan proved to be the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, taking four wickets in 8.4 overs.

#1 Rohit Sharma (264 off 173) scored 13 runs more than Sri Lanka's 251/10 in 2014

3⃣5⃣3⃣9⃣: Number of ODI team totals less than 264 until Rohit Sharma scored these runs on his own #OnThisDay in 2014 🙌

P.S: Sri Lanka's total of 251 in reply was the 3540th instance!

[📷: @BCCI] #INDvSL #Hitman #RohitSharma https://t.co/3cmxl1rMnw

Yesterday's game in Trivandrum wasn't the first instance where an Indian batter outscored Sri Lanka's team total in an ODI game.

In 2014, Rohit Sharma came up with arguably an innings of a lifetime when he notched up a prodigious 264 runs off 173 in an ODI at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The Indian opener broke countless records en route to his iconic innings, including Virender Sehwag’s highest ODI record of 219 runs back then. He also became the first and only batter to cross the 250-run mark in the 50-over format.

Hitman's innings helped the Men in Blue breach the 400-run mark in the first innings.

Chasing 405 runs, Sri Lanka could only reach 251 runs – a total which was less than Rohit’s score by 13 runs.