5 Highest ODI Totals in 2018
ODI cricket has entered a phase where scores in the range of 300 and 350 are not anymore the totals that the chasing teams are frightened of or the defending teams are comfortable with.
Batsmen do not wait for the death overs to start slogging anymore and middle overs are no more the containing phase. The fast paced and high scoring ODI games have been the highlight for more than a couple of years now and 2018 was no different, with 38 scores of 300 or more in ODIs.
As we near the end of 2018, we look at the 5 highest ODI totals recorded in the year:
5. Sri Lanka (366/6) vs England
The Sri Lankan Cricket Team has had a forgettable 2018 in ODIs, winning less than 50% of their matches. The home series against England was no different, where the Lions lost the 5 match series 3-1. After the first game was washed out, England won three consecutive matches to clinch the series, but the fifth ODI saw England get a taste of their own medicine as Sri Lanka piled up a massive total of 366.
Taking advantage of a good batting track, for the first time since 1998, all of Sri Lanka's top four notched half centuries. The openers provided Sri Lanka their first century opening stand since July 2017, which was followed by Kusal Mendis scoring his first half century since June 2017 and Chandimal crossing the fifty run mark after 18 innings. Chandimal's 80 was also his highest score since August 2016.
This was also Sri Lanka's highest ever ODI total against England.
After posting the mammoth total, Sri Lanka had the visitors three down inside the first two overs in what turned out to be a rain curtailed affair. The hosts ultimately won the contest by a huge margin of 219 runs by D/L method, inflicting a forgettable loss on the Englishmen.
The innings also displayed the potential of the Lankan batters, who till then performed well below par in the series.