What is England’s highest ODI chase against India?
England are widely regarded as one of the best white-ball chasing sides in the world. Set a target of 318 in the first India vs England ODI, they have made a blistering start to their innings.
The visitors are 131/0 after 14 overs and are well on their way to a win in the series opener. If England manage to chase down the total, it will be their highest ever successful chase against India in ODIs.
Here is a look at their record while chasing against India.
England’s highest successful chase against India happened in 1974
England’s highest successful chase in ODIs took place on July 13, 1974, at Leeds. England chased down India’s target of 266 in that game, winning the ODI with four wickets and 23 balls remaining.
John Edrich was the star of that encounter, with England’s No.3 top-scoring with a 97 ball 90. Keith Fletcher (39) and Tony Greig (40) were some of the other English players with useful contributions during the record chase.
Some of the Indian players who played that game were Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer and Bishan Bedi amongst others. India registered 265 in the first innings of that game courtesy of Brijesh Patel’s scintillating 82, but the total was not enough for a win.
Although England have gone past 266 while chasing against India in the past, they have ended up on the losing side on each of the occasions. The highest score registered by England while batting second is 366/8. England scored that total the last time they toured India in 2016/17, where they lost the game by 15 runs.
Yuvraj Singh’s 150 and MS Dhoni’s 134 powered India to 381/6 in that game. England gave a good fight in reply, with Eoin Morgan top-scoring with 102. But despite the best efforts of England’s lower order, India held their nerve to win the game comfortably in the end.
England also scored 338/8 in that famous 2011 World Cup match which ended in a tie. Another instance in 2007 saw them score 320/8 while chasing, but they agonisingly lost the match by nine runs on that occasion.