Australia redefined the way ODI cricket was played towards the start of the 21st century. It was their batting which brought about a major change in the format. Batsmen like Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, and Ricky Ponting, among others brought with them the aggressive brand of batting. As a result they went on to post some of the highest totals in the history of ODIs. Here, we'll take a look at three of Australia's highest ODI totals.
434/4 vs South Africa (Johannesburg | March 2006)
This was the highest ODI total ever recorded at that point of time but South Africa went on to better it in the very same game as they did the unthinkable and chased it down. Adam Gilchrist (55) and Simon Katich (79) set the platform up for Australia with a 97-run opening stand. Ricky Ponting then followed up with a massive knock of 164 off just 105 deliveries. Mike Hussey contributed 81 off just 51 deliveries and Andrew Symonds also played a 13-ball cameo of 27 runs to power Australia to the massive total. A win looked certain for Australia but South Africa had other ideas as Graeme Smith (90), Herschelle Gibbs (175) and Mark Boucher (50) dished out their ultimate best performances and thus powered South Africa to a memorable victory.
417/6 vs Afghanistan (Perth | March 2015)
Australia's first 400+ total didn't yield the best of results for them but the second instance turned put to be a fruitful one for them. This was a Group encounter of the 2015 ICC World Cup against Afghanistan at Perth. Clearly, there was a wide gap between the quality of the two sides and Australia took full advantage of it. Afghanistan showed heart by opting to bowl first after winning the toss but everything went on the expected lines as Australia posted a massive total of 417/6 riding on David Warner's breathtaking knock of 178 and two other valuable knocks of 95 and 88 from Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell respectively. The Australian bowlers had more than enough to defend and they came up with a clinical performance too as they bowled Afghanistan out for just 142 runs.
381/5 vs Bangladesh (Nottingham | June 2019)
This came in yet another World Cup encounter and it featured yet another daddy hundred from Warner. Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bat first on a beautiful Nottingham batting track. He put on a 121-run opening stand with David Warner before departing for an individual score of 53. But Warner carried on and brought up his highest score of the tournament, a magnificent knock of 166 of 147 deliveries. Usman Khawaja also contributed valuable 89 runs to the total and cameos of 32(10) from Glenn Maxwell and 17*(11) from Marcus Stoinis took the Australian total to 381/5 in their quota of 50 overs. Bangladesh didn't give up though. They tried their best, Mushfiqur Rahim scored a century whereas Mahmudullah Riyad and Tamim Iqbal registered fifties. But they could only manage a total of 333/8 and thus fell short of Australia's total by 48 runs.
Feature image courtesy: AFP/ WILLIAM WEST
