In a thrilling match at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, Australia narrowly defeated New Zealand by just four runs on Saturday, October 28. Australia’s innings began with a bang as David Warner and Travis Head put on an impressive show. These left-handed batters didn’t allow the New Zealand bowlers any room to breathe, scoring a remarkable 175 runs in just 19 overs.
Warner scored 81 runs from 65 balls, while Head, making a remarkable comeback from injury, achieved his first ODI World Cup century in only 59 balls. However, his innings was short-lived as he was bowled out by Glenn Phillips, who recorded his best ODI performance with figures of 3/37.
The New Zealand spinners successfully slowed down Australia’s scoring rate when it seemed like Australia might score over 450 runs at one stage.
Contributions from Glenn Maxwell (41 runs off 24 balls) and Pat Cummins (37 not out off 14 balls) injected much-needed momentum into the Australian innings, which eventually concluded at 388/10 after 49.2 overs. New Zealand had a tough job to do in the second half of the game. They gave it their all and were even ahead for most of their innings.
Devon Conway and Will Young got a good start, adding 61 runs for the first wicket. Rachin Ravindra played the main role and scored a fantastic century. He made 116 runs off 89 balls and kept New Zealand in the game.
Daryl Mitchell also contributed with 54 runs, but some other batsmen like Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner couldn’t make big scores.
James Neesham tried his best, scoring 58 runs, but was run out on the last ball of the match. As a result, Australia won by five runs and secured their fourth straight win in the ODI World Cup 2023.
#5 The largest total runs scored in the history of ODI World Cup matches
In a match held on October 7 in Delhi, South Africa scored 428/5, and Sri Lanka managed 326 runs, resulting in a total of 754 runs, which was the highest combined score in an ODI World Cup game at that time.
However, just three weeks later, this record was broken in the recent match between Australia and New Zealand. Australia posted 388 runs in their first innings, while New Zealand reached 383/9 in their 50 overs, leading to a total of 771 runs in the match.
#4 The quickest century ever scored by a New Zealand player in an ODI World Cup
Rachin Ravindra is having an outstanding tournament! This talented young player had a remarkable ODI World Cup debut against England in the opening match, where he delivered a match-winning performance with an unbeaten 123 runs from 96 balls.
In that game, he reached his century in just 82 balls, making it the fastest century by a New Zealand player in World Cup history.
However, on Saturday, he surpassed his own achievement by reaching a hundred in only 77 balls against Australia, setting a new record for the quickest ODI World Cup century for the Black Caps.
#3 The most runs scored during the powerplay phase in a match in the ODI World Cup
Batting together for the first time in the current tournament, David Warner and Travis Head wreaked havoc with the new ball. They aggressively attacked every delivery and completely dismantled the New Zealand fast bowlers.
In the initial five overs, they combined for 60 runs and then accelerated, adding 58 more runs in the following 30 balls. By the end of the powerplay, Australia had amassed 118/0, setting a new record for the highest total scored by a team after a 10-over powerplay in an ODI World Cup match.
The previous record was held by New Zealand during their match against England in Wellington at the 2015 ODI World Cup, where they managed 116/2.
#2 The highest score when a team bats first and gets all out in ODI history
Following Travis Head and David Warner’s 175-run opening stand, New Zealand’s fortunes took a turn for the better as they consistently picked up wickets.
Consequently, none of the Australian batsmen, aside from the openers, managed to reach the fifty-run mark.
Glenn Phillips and Trent Boult each secured three wickets, while Mitchell Santner claimed two, helping New Zealand dismiss Australia for 388/10 in 49.2 overs.
Remarkably, Australia’s 388 is now the highest first-innings total in ODI history for a team that got all out while batting first.
Previously, England held this record when they were all-out for 368 in an ODI against New Zealand at Kennington Oval earlier this year.
#1 Australia is the first team to score more than 350 runs in three back-to-back ODIs
Australia had a rough start with two losses but has turned things around by winning four consecutive games. They are in a good position to make it to the knockout stages. While their bowling has been excellent, their batting has been outstanding.
In their last three matches, they scored 367/9, 399/8, and 388/10, respectively. This achievement makes Australia the first team to score more than 350 runs in three consecutive ODI matches.
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