India has been a very good chasing team in the recent years. The men in blue have hunted down quite a few scores over 300 successfully.
While a collective team effort is always important while chasing big totals, teams also need big individual efforts to put them in the driving seat and power the whole chase.
Here are the 5 instances where the Indian batsmen scored 150+ in a successful ODI chase –
#1 MS Dhoni (183):
MS Dhoni was promoted up the order in the third ODI of the ODI series between India and Sri Lanka in 2005 and the Indian wicketkeeper batsman made a mockery of the huge total that Sri Lanka had put on the board batting first.
Dhoni smashed the Sri Lankan attack to all corners and scored 183 runs off just 145 balls with 15 fours and 10 huge sixes.
# Virat Kohli (183):
Virat Kohli played this knock against the arch rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup of 2012. India were chasing a huge score again and the onus was on Kohli, who was batting at no. 3, to lay the platform for the lower order batsmen to finish the game.
But, Kohli didn’t just lay the platform; he batted deep and took India very close to the target. He was dismissed at the score of 183 off 148 balls, but he had put the men in blue in a match winning position before his dismissal. India won the game easily from there.
#3 Virat Kohli (154):
It’s Virat Kohli again at no. 3 and it’s not surprising given the fact that he is fondly called the chase master by the Indian fans. He has done it so many times for India and the ODI against New Zealand in 2016 was just another day in the office for him.
Kohli scored 154 runs in that ODI played in Mohali and helped India chase the target of 280 odd runs without breaking a sweat. The then Indian captain MS Dhoni also scored a half-century in that game and was involved in a match winning partnership with Kohli.
#4 Rohit Sharma (152):
The West Indies attack was completely demolished by Rohit Sharma in the first game of the ODI series played between the two teams back in 2018.
India were chasing a total of over 300 in that game in Guwahati and Rohit, along with Virat Kohli who also scored a century, ensured that India absolutely cruised to the target without any hiccups.
While Kohli lost his wicket in the middle of the chase, Rohit batted right through and remained unbeaten at the score of 152.
#5 Gautam Gamhir (150):
Gautam Gambhir, who was Rohit Sharma’s predecessor at the top of the order in the Indian ODI line-up, was extremely good at chasing as well and he registered his highest ever ODI score at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka in 2009.
Gambhir scored 150 in a successful chase and stitched together a match winning partnership with Virat Kohli who was relatively a newcomer to the Indian ODI side at that time. Kohli also scored a hundred in that game.
