5 Highest team totals in ODIs
With the change in regulations, increase in the size of the bats and grounds getting increasingly smaller, it seems as though it is only a matter of time before records that have existed for a very long time are broken. While bowlers may not be getting much help, the batsmen certainly seem to be enjoying it in both ODIs and T20Is.
To give you an idea of just how much the cards are stacked in the batsmen, let us take a look at the number of 400+ totals that have been scored. Until 2006, such a total had never been achieved. Since then it has been done 18 times.
Of the 18 occasions, seven have come since last January and it seems as though the totals will only get bigger and bigger. While it might not be too long to see the first 450 run total in ODIs, let us take a look at the highest team totals in ODIs.
5) South Africa 438/4 vs India at Mumbai on 25th October 2015
In fifth place are South Africa who hold the record for the highest successful run chase in ODI history and just last year managed to breach the 400-barrier four times. The last of those four occasions came against India in October with the series on the line at 2-2 in the fifth and final ODI.
They got to 438/4 thanks to largely to centuries from not one, not two but three players. That feat has been achieved just twice in the history of ODIs. The first of those centurions was opener Quinton de Kock, who got to his century off 78 balls. Once he was dismissed along came a certain AB de Villiers at No.4 in the 27th over the with the score at nearly 200 for the loss of just two wickets.
From then onwards it was the AB de Villiers show. Although Faf was batting for more than 20 overs by the time AB walked in, the South African nearly beat Faf to a century. Although du Plessis got there first, it was AB who was faster as he got his in 61 balls and eventually helped the Proteas post a huge total on the board and register their biggest win in India and clinch the ODI series.