In ODI cricket, chasing a big target is a challenging task and it requires a kind of batsman who could play according to the match situation and play as an anchor that could benefit his team. There have been several instances where the players pulled off an thrilling run chase for their team single handedly.
There are many batters who are known for their art of chasing in the ODI format and regarded among the best in this business. In the following listicle, we will have a look at the top five batters with the highest individual score while chasing in ODI cricket.
Highest Individual Score while Chasing in ODI Cricket
5. Virat Kohli – 183 vs Pakistan in 2012
The young Virat Kohli gave a glimpse of his iconic cricketing career with his career-best ODI knock against Pakistan during the 2012 Asia Cup fixture in Mirpur on March 18th. Chasing a target of 330 runs, India lost their first wicket without any run on board. After that, Kohli took the charge and played one of the most iconic knocks of his career. Along with useful partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar (52 off 48) and Rohit Sharma (68 off 83), Kohli turned the match one-sided in India’s favour and played a knock 183(148). India won that match by six wickets with 13 balls to spare.
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4. MS Dhoni – 183* vs Sri Lanka in 2005
Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni mostly batted in the middle-order and lower order throughout his career. However, he used to play up the order in the initial days of his career and played his career-best ODI knock while batting at number in a match against Sri Lanka in Jaipur on October 31, 2005. Chasing a target of 299 runs, Dhoni came to bat when India lost their first wicket for seven runs. After that, Dhoni played a memorable knock of unbeaten 183*(145) runs and had some crucial partnerships with Virendra Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh as India scored 303/4 in 46.1 overs winning the match by six wickets.
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3. Shane Watson – 185* vs Bangladesh in 2011
Australia’s Shane Watson played his career-best ODI knock that guided Australia to a dominating victory against Bangladesh in Mirpur on April 11, 2011. Bowling first, the Australian star bowling line up restricted the hosts for 229/7 in 50 overs. It wasn’t a difficult chase for Australia and Watson made one-sided with unbeaten 185 runs off just 96 balls. Australia chased the target in just 26 overs winning the match by nine wickets.
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2. Fakhar Zaman – 193 vs South Africa in 2021
Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman has the second highest scorer while chasing in ODI cricket but unfortunately it came on a losing cause in a match against South Africa in Johannesburg on April 4, 2021. Chasing a target of 342 runs, Fakhar was a lone warriors for Pakistan with no support from the other end. He got out just seven runs behind his maiden ODI double ton scoring 193(155) runs. Despite his heroics, Pakistan lost the game by 17 runs.
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1. Glenn Maxwell – 201* against Afghanistan in 2023
One of the greatest ODI knocks of all time. Australia’s Glenn Maxwell pulled off an iconic run chase against Afghanistan during the 2023 ODI World Cup fixture in Mumbai on November 7th. Chasing a target of 292 runs, Australia had a disastrous start as they lost seven wickets for just 91 runs. After that, Maxwell scripted one of the greatest comebacks in ODI cricket scoring his maiden ODI double ton despite suffering from hamstring injury in mid-innings. With Maxwell smashing the Afghanistan bowlers just by standing at the crease, he got support from the skipper Pat Cummins who kept one end by scoring 12*(68). Maxwell scored an unbeaten 201*(128) and finished the match with a six to complete his double and seal an iconic victory for Australia in the World Cup.
