World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli predicts the first team to score 500 runs in ODI cricket

There is just a week left for the ICC World Cup 2019 to begin in England and Wales and the warmup games have shown a glimpse of what can happen in the tournament given the pitches and smaller grounds on display and on service. Even the captains of all the ten participating teams agreed that we could see 500 being scored for the first time during the course of the World Cup.

There was a time, when Sri Lanka’s score of 398 against Kenya, made in the 1996 World Cup, was seen as the benchmark of the scores that couldn’t be broken and it stood the test of time, until 2005, when it was broken twice, in the same match. Australia scored 434 against South Africa batting first and then South Africa created a world record that is yet to be broken, as they hit 438 runs thanks to Herschelle Gibbs whirlwind 175.

Australia had felt the brunt of England’s new-look team as they were blasted for 481/6 last year. Before this, England had broken the record of Sri Lanka, by making 444 against Pakistan in ODIs at home and against Australia, came very close to becoming the first team to reach 500 runs.

Virat Kohli knows which team is going to breach the 500-run mark

Kohli, meanwhile, felt that England may be the first team to hit the mark in this tournament. “I was just going to say it really depends on these guys (England). They seem to be obsessed with getting to 500 before anyone else,” the Indian skipper was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Not only Kohli but also other captains agreed that this edition will see very high scores being made by teams. “It is going to be a high scoring tournament but back home too I said 260-270 will also be as tough to get in a World Cup as chasing 370-380. I don’t see many high scoring games in the latter stages of the tournament, initially some teams might get on a roll but later on, you will see 250 defended as well. That is the kind of pressure World Cup brings,” Kohli mentioned further.

He also mentioned that the team is not going to go after the bowlers from ball one and may be cautious at the start as the tournament progresses. This may happen as certain teams may not be in a good position in the second half and may be under pressure while chasing a considerable total.

“The fact that you are going to be close to a knock out berth will get you under pressure in the latter stages and all teams recognize that. Then you will not see many teams going gung-ho from ball one. Generally, both teams would like to start in a balanced way and look to capitalize on the moments,” Virat signed off.