India register 2nd most successful run-chase in ODI cricket
By Sarang Bhalerao
For a statistician, after Australia scored 359 for five in 50 overs, there were several things that delighted us. This was the third time Australia had scored 359 runs against India. The first occasion was the World Cup final at Johannesburg where India were beaten by 125 runs after Ricky Ponting’s magnificent unbeaten 140 runs. The second occasion was in the tri-series final against at the Sydney Cricket Ground which India lost comprehensively.
India avoided the hat-trick of defeat thanks to splendid effort centuries from the Rohit Sharma (141 not out) and Virat Kohli (100 not out). Shikhar Dhawan scored 95 before he was dismissed by James Faulkner. Had he scored five more runs this would have been the first instance in the One-Day International (ODI) cricket.
India achieved the total with 39 balls to spare. This is the second highest successful run-chase in ODI cricket. Australia failed to defend 434 against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2006.
List of highest successful run-chases
| Team | Against | Score | Overs | Run-rate | Venue | Year | |
| 1 | South Africa | Australia | 438 for 9 | 49.5 | 8.78 | Johannesburg | 2006 |
| 2 | India | Australia | 362 for 1 | 43.3 | 8.32 | Jaipur | 2013 |
| 3 | New Zealand | Australia | 350 for 9 | 49.3 | 7.07 | Hamilton | 2007 |
| 4 | New Zealand | Australia | 340 for 5 | 48.4 | 6.98 | Auckland | 2007 |
| 5 | Australia | England | 334 for 8 | 49.2 | 6.77 | Sydney | 2011 |
Australia have been on the receiving end on four of five occasions. This is the first time a team has chased in excess of 300 and won by nine wickets.
List of India’s highest successful run-chases
This is India’s 14th score in excess of 300 batting second and winning the game— the most by any team. This is also their first win over Australia chasing a total in excess of 300. There have been two instances where India did score in excess of 300 but the target was just below 300. In Jaipur, India needed 299 to win the game. With India needing two to win, MS Dhoni hit a six off Tillakaratne Dilshan. Against England at Mohali in 2011, India scored 300 to win the game.
| Opponent | Total | Overs | RPO | Venue | Year | |
| 1 | Australia | 362 for 1 | 43.3 | 8.32 | Jaipur | 2013 |
| 2 | Pakistan | 330 for 4 | 47.5 | 6.89 | Dhaka | 2012 |
| 3 | England | 326 for 8 | 49.3 | 6.58 | Lord’s | 2002 |
| 4 | West Indies | 325 for 5 | 47.4 | 6.81 | Ahmedabad | 2002 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 321 for 5 | 48.5 | 6.57 | Bangalore | 2010 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 321 for 3 | 36. 4 | 8.75 | Hobart | 2012 |
| 7 | England | 317 for 8 | 49.4 | 6.38 | The Oval | 2007 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 317 for 3 | 48.1 | 6.58 | Kolkata | 2009 |
| 9 | Pakistan | 316 for 7 | 47.5 | 6.6 | Dhaka | 1998 |
| 10 | Sri Lanka | 310 for 4 | 46.5 | 6.61 | Karachi | 2008 |
| 11 | South Africa | 302 for 7 | 49.4 | 6.08 | Kochi | 2000 |
| 12 | Pakistan | 301 for 4 | 7.13 | 7.13 | Karachi | 2008 |
(Sarang Bhalerao hails from family of doctors, but did his engineering. He then dumped a career in IT with Infosys to follow his heart and passion and became a writer with CricketCountry. A voracious reader, Sarang aspires to beat Google with his knowledge of the game! You can follow him on Twitter here)