Australia equals world record

by Atul Kahate
11 November 1998



Australia equalled the existing world record when they successfully chased their target against Pakistan on 10 November in the third and final Limited Overs International match to score 316 runs. This is the highest ever score made by a team batting second (chasing a target) and winning. Although Sri Lanka had scored 329 against West Indies four years ago, they had lost by a whikser when Hashan Tillekeratne's brave innings ended with a catch on the boundary line.

The other world record for the highest runs scored when chasing a target successfully belonged to India, when they beat Pakistan last year in that exciting third and last final at Dhaka when Kanitkar dispatched Saqlain Mushtaq's delivery over mid wicket for a winning four.

The following table lists the highest totals made by teams when chasing a target together with details such as whether the match was day/night and the margins of victory/defeat.

Total   Overs For Vs    Ground                Date      *DN Result of match

329-10  49.3  SL  WI    Sharjah               16 Oct 1995 N Lost by  4 runs
316- 4  48.5  Aus Pak   Lahore                10 Nov 1998 N Won  by  6 wkts
316- 7  47.5  Ind Pak   Dhaka                 18 Jan 1998 N Won  by  3 wkts
315-10  49.4  Pak SL    Singapore             02 Apr 1996 N Lost by 34 runs
313- 7  49.2  SL  Zim   New Plymouth          23 Feb 1992 N Won  by  3 wkts
301-10  49.3  SL  Ind   Colombo (Khettarama)  07 Jul 1998 Y Lost by  6 runs
300- 7  50.0  Ind SL    Colombo (Khettarama)  17 Aug 1997 Y Lost by  2 runs
300- 6  48.0  Pak SL    Kimberley             07 Apr 1998 N Won  by  4 wkts
298- 6  54.5  NZ  Eng   Leeds                 23 May 1990 N Won  by  4 wkts
298- 9  50.0  NZ  RSA   Brisbane              09 Jan 1998 Y Lost by  2 runs
297- 6  48.5  NZ  Eng   Adelaide              29 Jan 1983 N Won  by  4 wkts
297- 5  48.1  RSA WI    Lahore                03 Nov 1997 Y Won  by  5 wkts
292-10  49.2  Ind Pak   Chennai               21 May 1997 Y Lost by 35 runs

Note: DN = 'Y' means the match was a floodlit (day/night) LOI match.

Just for the record, Pakistan have been beaten in a home series in all the matches only for the second time ever. The only previous instance was when England beat them 3-0 after the 1987-88 Reliance World Cup.

Contributed by: Atul Kahate (atul.kahate@db.com)


Source: CricInfo