Top 5 run-chases at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in ODIs

After losing the Ashes 0-4 to Australia, England made a stellar comeback in the ODI series. They chased down a massive target of 305 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the ODI series. On winning the toss, England asked the Aussies to bat first. Australia put up 304 runs on the board for the loss of eight wickets, courtesy a century from Aaron Finch. Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis have both slammed half-centuries to push the total past 300. Liam Plunkett was the pick of the bowlers taking three wickets in the innings.

Jason Roy and Joe Root have sealed the chase for England. Roy has hit a brilliant century. Root ensured that he stayed in the middle until the end. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get to what would have been a well-deserved hundred. The innings ended when he was on 91.

Let us have a look at the top 5 ODI chases at the MCG

1. England 308/5 vs Australia, 2018

England chased down 305 runs today making this the highest ever chase at the MCG. They are the first ever side to chase 300+ at the MCG in 46 years.

Chasing a huge target, the English batsman showed no respect to the Australian bowlers. Despite getting two early wickets, Australian bowlers joy was short-lived. Jason Roy and Joe Root had stitched a partnership of over 200 runs at a fairly good rate. Roy was absolutely brutal with the bat. He scored 180 off just 151 deliveries and it looked a possibility that he might also score a double century. His 180 is the highest ever individual ODI score for England.  He was complemented well by Root who scored 91 off 110 balls.

Roy looked at his best during this innings, hitting the ball all around the ground. He smashed 16 fours and 5 sixes during his innings. Roy had been in Australia for a while now playing in the Big Bash League. He got all his BBL experience into this match helping England achieve their first win on this tour. Although Australia managed to pick up the wicket of Roy, a significant amount of damage was already done. Root ensured that he held up his end tight and see England through with this chase.

Toss: England elected to bowl
Scores: 

Australia: 304/8 in 50 overs (Aaron Finch 107 (119), Marcus Stoinis 60 (40) Mitchell March 50(68), Liam Plunkett 3/71, Adil Rashid 2/73)

England: 308/5 in 48.5 overs (Jason Roy 180 (151), Joe Root 91 (110), Mitchell Starc 2/71, Pat Cummins 2/63)
MOM: Jason Roy

2. Australia 297/4 vs England, 2011

In 2011, Australia chased their highest ever total at the MCG. The heroics from the willow of Shane Watson helped them chase a huge total easily. Australia won that match by 6 wickets making it 1-0 up in the series. That knock from Shane Watson was absolutely risk-free and came under high pressure. The opposition captain Andrew Strauss has complimented that it was one of the top ODI knocks, that time.

The game went down to the wire and chase was only completed in the last over. Although England did well with the bat, they failed to do well with the ball. One of their batsmen has looked to bat through the 50-overs. It could have helped them score 6 or 7 extra runs as it might have made a difference. But with the way Watson played, it wouldn’t have given them much of a chance.

In the England innings, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss have ensured that they posted a respectable total on board. The other players had minimal contributions in the innings. Earlier, England won the Ashes series 3-1 and the T20I series was drawn 1-1. Australia went on to win the ODI series by a huge margin of 6-1.

Toss: England elected to bowl

Scores: 

England: 294 all out in 49.4 overs (Kevin Pietersen 78 (75), Andrew Strauss 63 (65), David Hussey 2/42, Steve Smith 2/12)

Australia: 297/4 in 49.1 overs (Shane Watson 161 (150)*, Brad Haddin 39 (47), Tim Bresnan 2/71, Graeme Swann 1/42)

MOM: Shane Watson

3. Australia 296/7 vs India, 2016

In the 3rd ODI between India and Australia in 201, the hosts won the toss and elected to field first. Put in to bat first, India lost Rohit Sharma early. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli stabilized the innings. Virat went on to make a brilliant hundred. Shikhar and Ajinkya Rahane managed to get their half centuries.

But all their efforts went in vain when the ‘Maxwell Storm’ has taken over. Under some great pressure, Glenn Maxwell managed to score 96 off 83 balls. Shaun Marsh has scored 62 in that innings. Ultimately, Maxwell turned out to be the difference between both the sides.

Toss: Australia elected to bowl

Scores: 

India: 295/6 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 117 (117), Shikhar Dhawan 68 (91); John Hastings 4/58, Kane Richardson 1/48)

Australia:  296/7 in 48.5  overs(Glenn Maxwell 96 (83), Shaun Marsh 62 (73), Ravindra Jadeja 2/49, Ishant Sharma 2/53)

MOM: Glenn Maxwell

4. Australia 291/5 vs New Zealand, 2007

In the 11th match of the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. Lou Vincent and Peter Fulton provided New Zealand with a great start in the first innings after the early dismissal of Stephen Fleming. Vincent scored 90 and unfortunately missed out on his century. After these two got out, Scott Styris scored 34 and NZ ended up putting a total of 291 on board. Brett Lee and Stuart Clark picked two wickets each.

It wasn’t an ideal start to the chase for Australia as they lost their openers early. Micheal Clarke also fell cheaply. But Ricky Ponting and Brad Hodge took it in their stride to finish this chase for Australia. The asking-rate crept up to seven an over by the half-way stage but not once did Ponting or Hodge panic. Ponting led from the front with a super-cool century and Hodge overcame a nervy start to see Australia through to the target.  Hodge had scores of 0 and 1 in the series before this and has put his hand up with an outstanding hundred at his home ground.

Toss: New Zealand elected to bat first

Scores:

New Zealand: 290/7 in 50 overs (Vincent 90 (113), Fulton 60 (81), Micheal Clarke 2/45, Stuart Clarke 2/61)

Australia: 291/5 in 48.2 overs (Ricky Ponting 104 (113), Brad Hodge 99 (86), James Franklin 2/56, Mark Gillespie 1/45)

MOM: Ricky Ponting

5. West Indies 273/6 vs Australia, 1985

This goes way back to 1985 when West Indies managed to chase down 273 at the MCG. In the second final against Australia in the CB tri-series, WI won the toss and elected to field first. Australia batted first and scored 271 in their 50 overs quota. GM Wood had top-scored for the WI. He made 81 runs off 119 balls. SB Smith and WB Phillips have also got to their half centuries. The lethal WI fast bowlers only managed to pick three wickets in the first innings.

Although WI lost Sir Viv Richards cheaply in the chase, it was a consistent team effort from all other players to help West Indies get across the line. West Indies comfortably chased down the target. The Best-of-3-finals were level at 1-1.

Toss: West Indies, elected to field first

Scores:

Australia: 271/3 (50) (GM Wood 81 (119), WB Phillips 56 (37), WW Davis 1/43, M Holding 1/41)

Windies: 273/6 (49.2) (AL Logie 60 (56), RB Richardson 50 (90),  GF Lawson 2/34, SP O’Donnell 2/46)

To get more latest cricket news updates, stats, stories, etc., around the world, keep following CricTracker site!