1. 443-9 by Sri Lanka against Netherlands at VRA Ground, Amstelveen
The Lankan Lions showed no mercy and smashed the Netherlands bowlers all-round the park in an One Day International (ODI) match in 2006. Sri Lanka scored a massive total of 443 runs and this is till date the highest total in One Day International cricket. This match was played at Played at VRA Ground, Amstelveen. Sanath Jayasuriya ((157) and Tilakaratne Dilshan (117) both scored centuries and took Sri Lanka’s total to 443. This match will always be remembered for Sanath Jayasuriya’s ruthless hitting.
2. 439-2 by South Africa against West Indies at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
This match is remembered for AB de Villiers’ fastest hundred in One Day International (ODI) cricket. South Africa batted first on a good batting wicket at Johannesburg and scored 439 runs. South Africa’s opening batsman Rilee Rossouw (153) and Hashim Amla (128) also batted brilliantly and scored brilliant hundreds. A total of 18 sixes were smashed in the innings by the South African batsmen, and AB de Villiers smashed 16 of these 18 sixes.
3. 438-9 by South Africa against Australia at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
This is arguably the greatest ODI match in the history of cricket. South Africa chased down a mammoth total of 435 runs in style and registered one of the memorable wins in the history of ODI cricket. They won the match by 1 wicket and sealed victory in the series as well.
4. 434-4 by Australia at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
This happened in the same match. Batting first, Australia scored 434 runs at the loss of 4 wickets. Australian captain Ricky Ponting batted brilliantly and scored 164 runs off 105 balls. Ponting smashed 9 sixes and 13 fours. However, this match is remembered for South Africa’s lion-hearted chase and Herschelle Gibbs’ breathtaking knock of 175 runs off just 111 balls. Ah! What a game of cricket it was.
5. 418-5 by South Africa against Zimbabwe at Sedgars Park, Potchefstroom
South Africa decided to bat first after winning the toss on a good batting wicket. South Africa’s openers Bosman and Peterson batted brilliantly at the top of the innings and added 160 runs for the first wicket. However, it was Mark Boucher’s unbelievable knock of 147 runs off just 68 balls that took South Africa to the total of 418 in the end. Boucher scored 10 sixes and 8 fours in his innings. This is arguably the best knock of Mark Boucher’s career.
By Mohit Chawla
