1. New Zealand VS Ireland – In the 1st match of Associates tri-series, it was Ireland VS New Zealand, where New Zealand got diminished by a huge margin of 290 runs. Batting first, New Zealand spared no Irish bowlers, as both their openers notched up big centuries with McCullum scoring 166 and Marshall scoring 161. Taylor also made a blistering 59 off just 24 balls to help New Zealand cross the record 400 runs mark. Chasing 403, only a miracle could have given any faint chance to Ireland but rather New Zealand bowling line-up drove a roller coaster through the Irish batting line up to bundle them out on 112, and also achieved the record of the biggest margin of victory in cricket
history.
2. Australia VS Afghanistan– In Pool A match between Australia and Afghanistan, the Aussies registered there biggest ODI victory in terms of runs. The Aussies after batting first didn’t have a great start as they lost Aaron Finch very cheaply. But from there on smith and Warner added 260 runs in next 34 overs to destroy any ray of hope for Afghanistan. Maxwell also played his role to perfection and put the finishing touch with
his blistering 88runs to ensure Australia cross 400 runs mark. Aussies finally ended up scoring 417. The result of the match was evident but the question was for how much time Afghanistan can survive. Afghanistan though tried to play sensibly but the pace trio of Starc- Hazlehood – Johnson ripped through Afghanistan’s batting line up. Afghanistan got all out for a paltry 142 to hand Australia a huge 275 runs victory.
3. South Africa VS Zimbabwe – In the third ODI of Zimbabwe tour of South Africa in 2019, South Africa thrashed Zimbabwe by 272 runs. Batting first, South Africa’s openers gave them a blistering start as South Africa reached 50 runs within the first 5 overs. But Zimbabwe soon hurt the Africans as they picked up their openers within the next couple of overs. From there on JP Duminy and ABD massacred the Zimbabwe
bowling line up as both of them notched up a 200+ partnership. A. Morkel, Miller and Ingram then ensured that Zim had ton chase a target of 400 runs. In reply, Zimbabw was never in the game as they kept losing wickets at frequent succession with 47 runs being their highest partnership. Finally, Zimbabwe got bowled out for a paltry 127, handing the Proteas their biggest margin of victory ever.
4. South Africa VS Sri Lanka – In the first ODI of Sri Lanka tour of South Africa in 2012, South Africa handed another miserable defeat to their opposition. South Africa though lost Graeme Smith early, but Amla and Kallis reconstructed the innings by having a great partnership. A Morkel and ABD also did their part along with Amla who almost played for 48 overs. Chasing 302 to win, Sri Lankan openers departed without even opening their account and the team never recovered from that situation. South Africa’s bowlers especially M. Morkel and Tsotsobe who shared 7 wickets between them to bundle them out for a paltry 43 to end Sri Lanka in their lowest ever total and handing them the most embarrassing defeat in their cricket history.
5. India VS Bermuda – Another World Cup instance in the list. This happened in 2007 World Cup group stage match. Though the world campaign was the worst one for the Indian team, they created a great record against the minnows. India batting first lost Uthappa cheaply courtesy of a great catch from Leverock. But after that, there was no stopping for India’s batting. Ganguly and Sehwag bashed Bermuda bowlers to all parts of the ground and also the later brought up his century. No Indian batsmen spared the Bermuda bowlers, like Dhoni, Yuvi, Sachin all scored at a rapid rate to post India’s highest-ever ODI total then. Chasing this humongous total, Bermuda didn’t have anything but to play out the full fifty overs, which would’ve been an achievement. But except David Hemp, no one showed the urge or composure to stay in the crease and hence got bundled out for 156 and handed India their biggest victory in terms of runs in ODI history.
6. South Africa VS West Indies – South Africa in the list for the third time. In the match, batting first South Africa started cautiously and also lost Quinton De Kock early. But after that Faf and H. Amla had a great partnership. After Amla’s departure Faf, Rossouw and ABD diminished the WI bowling line up. South Africa racked up 140 runs between 30th to 43rd over. ABD smashed an unbeaten 162 off just 66 deliveries and propelled
South Africa’s score beyond 400. In reply, West Indies failed to show any kind of resistance as they kept losing wickets from the beginning and didn’t have any big partnerships. Africa’s ace leg-spinner Imran Tahir picked up 5 wickets, to destroy WI’s hope. West Indies’s innings came to an end on 151, which gave South Africa a victory by a huge margin of 257 runs in an important World Cup game.
7. Australia Vs Namibia – This instance happened in the 2003 World cup when the world champions faced a minnow Namibia. Aussies started slowly and also lost Gilchrist with just 26 runs in the board. Bevan and Hayden then had a partnership of 80 odd runs out of which Bevan contributed only 17 runs. The onslaught was mainly done by Hayden as he was smashing Namibia bowlers all around the park. When Hayden departed for a blistering 88, Symonds was already set in the crease. In the D. Martyn’s 35 and Lehmann’s quickfire half-century ensured Australia goes past 300 runs mark. After doing a decent job with the ball, everyone thought Namibia’s morale boost would help them to face the Aussies bowling. But McGrath ripped through the Namibian batting line up and picked his career-best figure of 7 – 15. Namibia was bowled out for a paltry 45 as Australia won the match by 256 runs.
8. India Vs Hong Kong – In the 4th match of the Asia Cup 2008, India diminished Hong Kong. India ferociously started the innings with both Gambhir and Sehwag started to attack from the beginning, as India reached the 100 runs mark in just 17 overs. After their departure, Raina and MS Dhoni had a huge partnership of 166 runs and both of them notched up their respective centuries. India though had a halt in the middle when Hong Kong’s left-arm spinners kept the legendary duo quite and India could add only 47 in their 15 overs. But after 30 overs, India batsmen went berserk and finally ended up scoring 374. In reply, Hong Kong kept losing wickets frequently with 45 runspartnership being their highest. Finally, Hong Kong was bundled out for a paltry 118 and India clinched the match by a huge margin of 256 runs.
9. Pakistan Vs Ireland – In the first ODI of Pakistan tour of England and Ireland in 2016, Pakistan created this record against Ireland. After batting first Pakistan piled up a huge total of 337 in the allotted 47 overs, courtesy of Sharjeel Khan’s brilliant 152. The likes of Md. Hafeez, Md. Nawaz and Shoaib Malik also played their parts to help the team post this huge total. In the role of the chase, for Ireland, their top order had to play a big role in the chase to have some chance but it was only expectations. The likes of Stirling, Porterfield and Kevin O’Brien all failed to stay in the crease. The whole Ireland’s batting line up tumbled down in-front of Imad Wasim’s bowling. The clinical bowling display from the Pakistani bowlers meant Ireland’s batting could only resist themselves from the attack till 24th over for 82 runs before getting all out, which meant that Pakistan clinched the victory by a record 255 runs.
10. Sri Lanka Vs India – This is probably the worst and most embarrassing defeat Indian team ever faced. In the Champions Trophy 2000, batting first Sri Lanka had set a target of 300 for India, courtesy of Jayasuria’s best ODI score 189 off 161 balls. At one point it seemed evident that Jayasuria is going to be the first batsman to notch up a double century in ODIs, but Ganguly got rid of him in the 49th over. With the damage already being done India had been set a target of 300, but India’s strong batting line up meant there was a possibility of chasing it down. But what happened, in reality, was totally out of Indian team’s and fan’s wildest dreams. Sri Lankan bowlers specially Muralitharan and Vass rampaged through the Indian batters and the team got all out for just 54 runs and in the process, Sri Lanka registered a huge 245 runs victory and India registered probably their most shameful one.
