Top 5 highest successful ODI chases by India
For the 90s kid, this is like a Cinderella story. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have ensured that Indian fans don’t switch off their TVs after the first wobble in a chase and learn to believe that their team is capable of chasing tough targets.
But, even by those standards – India being one of the most successful teams over the last decade when it comes to chases – this seemed impossible. Virat Kohli’s decision to win the toss and ask England to bat seemed like a blunder when England posted a massive 350. If that didn’t make England feel confident of winning, they would have believed so when India were 63 for 4, with two of the big three, Dhoni and Yuvraj, back in the pavilion.
But as a testimony of India’s bench strength, it was Kedar Jadhav, the local boy, who played the innings of his life to outshine Kohli in a chase.
In the end, India’s 356 for 7 is the fourth highest successful ODI chase. Of the 6 successful chases of 350 and above, India have 3 (South Africa have the top 2, both against Australia) (350 runs or more have been scored in a successful chase 7 times, in one case the target being 347). Successful or not, India boast of 4 out of the top 10 highest totals in a chase, winning three of them.
Here, we take a look at India’s top 5 ODI chases!
362/1 against Australia, Jaipur, 2013
Chasing 359 against Australia is never easy, good batting track or not. But, India bossed the chase right from start and at no point did they look remotely in trouble. India started out with a 176-run partnership in just 26 overs. Even though Shikhar Dhawan fell on 95 off 86 balls, Rohit Sharma carried on to score an unbeaten 141 off just 123 balls.
He added 186* for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, who scored a 52-ball 100, the fastest by an Indian. That India managed to chase down the mammoth score in just 43.3 overs, shows how good the top 3 for India were on a good batting track, especially against bowlers of the class of Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner.