ODI World Cup 2023: Teams and players break many records

Despite being a less popular format among fans than the T20I and Tests in recent years, the ODI World Cup got underway in style. In the first ten games of the competition, numerous records have already been broken. Once the tournament is over on November 19th, teams or individual players will be able to brag about a number of batting records due to pitches typically helping batters. These records are shown below.

India beats Afghanistan comfortably

The Indian batting lineup did not falter in their second game, in contrast to their first match, as they easily thrashed their neighbours Afghanistan at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. India needed just 35 overs to successfully chase down the 272 runs Afghanistan recorded in their first innings. In three separate historical events against Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma made numerous records.

Rohit hits most sixes

When in form, Rohit Sharma is a dangerous batter because of his impeccable timing. The Indian captain surpassed ‘The Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle to become the batter with the most sixes in international cricket with five sixes in one innings. Rohit now has 556 sixes to his name in international cricket, while Chris Gayle struck 553 sixes. The Indian captain is on pace to hit 600 sixes in international cricket, making him the first batsman to accomplish this feat. 

Rohit breaks Sachin’s record

Rohit Sharma scored another century during the World Cup, giving him seven centuries overall. After the current Indian skipper smashed five centuries in the World Cup in 2019, Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma were tied for the most centuries in the tournament with six. While Sachin needed 44 innings to record his six hundreds, Rohit scored his seventh century in 19 World Cup innings.

Rohit smashes the fastest century by an Indian

After a duck against Australia, Rohit Sharma looked dangerous against Afghanistan. The surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was also favourable for batsmen, as Rohit Sharma took full advantage of the marginally shorter boundaries to record the quickest World Cup century by an Indian. Rohit broke Virender Sehwag’s 2007 record of 81 balls against Bermuda by reaching the milestone of 63 balls.

Pakistan records highest successful chase

In their second game of the tournament, Pakistan faced Sri Lanka at Hyderabad as the early favourites. After choosing to bat first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka amassed 344 runs to give Pakistan a high target and a record chase. Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam were both quickly dismissed by Sri Lanka, making it appear as though Pakistan would have difficulty winning the game. The ‘Men in Green’ successfully chased 345 and broke the record for the highest successful chase in the World Cup, which was previously held by Ireland against England thanks to centuries from Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan.

Scary start for India against Australia

Australia in their first game of the tournament had been bowled out for just 199 runs thanks to India’s bowling. Just 200 runs were the target set for the batters by the bowlers, who did their job well. India was first put on edge by the Australian pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, who took three wickets for just two runs. Through the efforts of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, India went on to win the game. India set an unwanted record by winning the game by scoring the fewest runs with the loss of just three wickets in a victory (2).

South Africa scores big against Sri Lanka

In their opening match of the World Cup, South Africa scored an enormous total against Sri Lanka, the champions from 1996. As both sides’ batters set numerous records, the game at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium was a run-fest.

Highest team score in World Cups

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to put South Africa into bat. South Africa got off to a sluggish start in retrospect in the powerplay, scoring only 48 runs. South Africa scored 243 runs in the middle overs (overs 11–40) and appeared to be on track for a large total. However, it was in the final 10 overs that South Africa launched their assault on a Sri Lankan bowling team that was severely depleted. They broke the record for the highest team score in ODI World Cups by scoring 137 runs in the final 10 overs. In the first innings, South Africa scored 428 runs in total.

Markram scores the fastest century

Irish batsman Kevin O’Brien set a record for the quickest century during the 2011 World Cup. O’Brien needed just 50 balls to reach his century. Aiden Markram scored a century in just 49 balls, shattering the previous record of 12 years. In his record-breaking innings, he hit 14 fours and three sixes.

Three centurions for the first time

In a World Cup game, a side is frequently in a strong position if one of its players scores a century. In the vast majority of World Cup games, having two centurions on your team ensures victory. However, in the ODI format, scoring a century by three different players is extremely uncommon. Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Markram all struck hundreds for South Africa against Sri Lanka, making them the first side in a World Cup game to have three different players reach the century mark.

Highest runs in a match

The most runs ever scored in a World Cup game were scored in a match between Australia and Bangladesh during the 2019 World Cup. However, the run-fest at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi broke the record for the most runs scored when both teams scored heavily and the game ended with 754 runs overall. The 1996 winners scored 326 runs thanks to 50+ scores from Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka as Sri Lanka put up a valiant effort despite losing the match by 102 runs.

English batters scoring in double-digits

At Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, the tournament’s defending champions, England, squared off against the runners-up from the previous year, New Zealand. The 2019 Cricket World Cup began in record-breaking fashion with the rematch of the previous edition final. The English batsmen who batted first excelled not only in the ODI World Cups but also in the ODI format.

This was the first time in the history of the format where all 11 members of a team scored in the double figures. Joe Root, the leading scorer for the defending champions, scored 77 runs, while Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes each scored 11 runs. 

In the end, despite their historic record-breaking innings, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, who were playing in their first World Cup, both scored hundreds to help their team reach the target in the second innings within 37 overs.