3 longest winning streaks in ODI history
As India Women registered a thrilling two-wicket victory in Mackay, Australia Women's winning streak in ODIs came to an end. Australia Women, led by Meg Lanning, won 26 ODIs in a row.
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Australia Women scored 264/9 on the back of half-centuries from Ashleigh Gardner (67) and Beth Mooney (52), as well as a well made 47 from all-rounder Talia McGrath.
Jhulan Goswami was India Women's best bowler, with figures of 3/37 from her 10 overs.
In their chase, opener Shafali Verma switched from her usually aggressive style to bring up her maiden ODI half-century, before eventually falling for 56 off 91 deliveries.
Yastika Bhatia, who has been very impressive since her debut for the national team in the first match of the series, scored 64, before a late surge from Deepti Sharma (31) and Sneh Rana (30) saw India finish the chase off with three balls to spare.
Veteran pacer Goswami, who hit the winning runs, was named player of the match.
The 26-match winning streak is the longest ever in the combined history of men's and women's ODIs.
The record of 21 wins by the Australian men's team seemed to stand the test of time, but Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry and co. not only scripted history, but also extended the record by five matches.
We take a look at the three longest winning streaks in ODI history.
1) Australia Women's team - 26 matches (2017-2021)
In April 2021, when Australia Women beat New Zealand Women in the first ODI of their series, they registered the longest-ever winning streak in the 50-over format, going past their men's team record of 21 games. They went on to extend their streak by four more games before their defeat on Sunday to India.
Their last defeat came against England Women in 2017. Four years later, Australia Women showed they were in a class of their own. Even the defeat in Mackay came in a dead rubber, with Australia having won the first two ODIs in the three-match series.
While their winning streak may have come to an end, they will still look to continue their era of domination, with the Women's World Cup slated for next year.
2) Australia Men's team - 21 matches (2003)
The Australian men's team had an unreal period of domination in 2003, when they won 21 ODIs on the trot between January and May. In five months, the Ricky Ponting-led outfit swept opponents aside, winning the 2003 World Cup along the way, as they registered what was at the time the longest winning streak in the 50-over format.
It still remains the longest winning streak in men's ODIs, and that the next best is still 12 -- achieved by South Africa twice and once by Pakistan -- shows just how good the run was.
3) Australia Women's team - 17 matches (1997-1999)
Australia have been the dominant force in women's cricket, and that they hold the two longest streaks in women's ODIs - along with six World Cup titles - goes to prove it.
Led by Belinda Clarke, Australia Women went on a 17-game winning streak from December 12, 1997 to February 7, 1999. The streak started in the World Cup being held in India, which they won, and ended during a home series against South Africa Women that they won.
In testament to their domination at the time, they went on another 16-match winning streak that started later that month!