11 highest ODI team totals in history
The very first One Day International (ODI) cricket match was played between England and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia on January 5, 1971, in which Australia won by 5 wickets. England managed to score only 190 runs for 10 wickets, from 39.4 overs. They failed to defend the total as Australia reached their goal with 42 balls remaining. Australia scored 191 runs for 5 wickets, from 34.6 overs. John Edrich of England got the 'Player of the Match' award for the first time in ODI cricket history.
If we focus on the history of the One Day International cricket, we can find that the team totals have increased continually. Recently, the latest playing techniques and tricks, brand new playing methods, and of course, the onset of T20 International cricket format has brought a rapid increment in the scorecard.
On March 6, 1996, Sri Lanka made the total of 398/5 against Kenya at Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy. Before 400 runs, it was the highest team total in ODI cricket.
On March 12, 2006, the memorable and the greatest ODI match was played between South Africa and Australia, in which both the teams passed the 400 runs mark for the first time, in their respective innings.
Here in this slideshow, we will focus on 11 such ODI team totals, which are the highest in the world cricket history.
#11. 414/7 India vs Sri Lanka, Rajkot, 2009
On December 15, 2009, the 1st ODI of the Sri Lanka tour of India was played at Rajkot. Team India put a record 414 runs on board for 7 wickets and managed to beat Sri Lanka by only three runs. Sri Lanka's spectacular batting helped them to score 411 runs for 8 wickets.
Player of the match, Virender Sehwag played a destructive inning and scored 146 off just 102 balls, with a strike rate of 143.13. His 153 runs partnership with Sachin Tendulkar and 156 runs partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped Team India to set a huge target of 415 runs for the visitors.
In the second inning of the match, Sri Lanka appeared to be a menace for India as Tillakaratne Dilshan played an extraordinary 160 runs' inning off 124 balls, and Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara thrashed Indian bowling line-up to score 90 off just 43 balls. Though Dilshan and Sangakkara played unforgettable knocks in the match, Sri Lanka managed to score 411 runs at the end of the inning and unfortunately lost to India by just 3 runs.