Top 5 teams who have defended 1st inning score of 235 or less the most times

Top 5 teams who have defended 1st inning score of 235 or less the most times: A golden rule in limited overs cricket is to bat first and put up a big total on the board. Once you have done that you have won half the battle or rather half of the match. But there have been occasions when some initial movement for the pacers or a batting failure has halted teams to under par totals. That is actually when the bowling and the defending prowess of a team are tested. Here is the list of Top 5 teams who have defended 1st inning score of 235 or less the most times: 5. South Africa: 49 times Lowest ever defended 129/6 v England 1996 South Africa. (Photo Source: BCCI) South Africa has defended 49 totals of 235 or less in One Day International cricket from their readmission in 1991 up till now. Blessed with a wonderful fast bowling line-ups containing the likes of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusner, Adrian Kuiper, Richard Snell, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel South Africa has always found out ways to keep the opposition from reaching the targets set by South Africa one way or another. 4. New Zealand: 51 times Lowest ever defended 153 v England 1996 Lowest ever defended 153 v England 1996. (© Getty Images) The perennial under dogs have defended 51 totals of 235 runs or less in ODI cricket. New Zealand have been a team of big stars, but rather have been a team of players who play well as a team and guarantee that Kiwis come out as winners. They have had bowlers like Sir Richard Hadlee, Chris Cairns, Dion Nash, Danny Morrison, Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, Daniel Vettori who have always bind the batsmen and have resulted in New Zealand defending totals of even less than 150 runs. 3. India: 53 times Lowest ever defended 105 v Bangladesh 2013 India. (Photo Source: BCCI) India have defended totals of 235 runs or less 53 times. Though traditionally India is a batting heavy team and have known to chase totals in excess of 350 easily, but occasionally they have even defended the lowest total in ODIs, 105 against Bangladesh in 2013. Stuart Binny took 6/4, the best figures for an Indian bowler in ODIs. India have had good quality fast bowlers in Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan in their ranks to compliement Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ravi Shastri, Maninder Singh and Laxman Sivaramaakrishnan to be able to bowl out opposition to less than what India made. 2. Pakistan: 81 times Lowest ever defended 140 v West Indies 1981 Lowest ever defended 140 v West Indies 1981. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Pakistan has been blessed with world-class bowlers since their debut in 1952 and in ODI cricket, they have been known to restrict the opposition to less than what their batsmen managed to make. Pakistan have defended a total of 235 runs or less 81 times in ODI history, the second most. Bowlers like Sarfraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Sikandar Bakht, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoiab Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad and Saeed Ajmal have always stepped up when the batsmen failed in doing their job. 1. Australia: 85 times Lowest ever defended 109 in 30 overs v West Indies 1992 Lowest ever defended 109 in 30 overs v West Indies 1992. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The best team in the world is also the team to successfully defend a total of 235 runs or less the most 85 times in ODI. Australian team has the tenancy and determination to defend whatever total they make. Bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee, Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc have the firepower to defend the totals their batting set for them to restrict the opposition to less than that. Also Read – Top 10 fastest deliveries ever bowled in international cricket (All Stats Updated Till 16th November, 2015)