India’s record fell within reach of Zimbabwe after a massive win over USA in the ODI World Cup qualifiers. After losing the toss and batting first, Zimbabwe scored 409 runs and defeated the Americans by 304 runs. America’s reply ended with 104 runs in 25.1 overs. This is the second biggest win in terms of runs in men’s ODIs. In this regard, the record belongs to India.
On January 15, 2023, in a match held at Kariyavattam, Thiruvananthapuram, India embarrassed their neighbors Sri Lanka by 317 runs. Sri Lanka’s reply ended with just 73 runs in 22 overs against India, who scored 390 runs for five in 50 overs thanks to Virat Kohli (166 not out in 110 balls), Shubman Gill (116 in 97 balls) and Rohit Sharma (42). For India, Mohammad Siraj took four wickets for 32 runs in the last over, while Mohammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each. Australia’s 275-run win over Afghanistan in 2015 and South Africa’s 272-run win over Zimbabwe in 2010 are fourth and fifth.
Captain Shaun Williams led Zimbabwe to a record victory with a smashing century. The skipper scored 174 runs off 101 balls with 21 fours and five sixes and was selected as the man of the match. Zimbabwe scored their highest score in ODIs for the loss of six wickets. Their previous highest score was 351 for seven against Kenya in 2009. Openers Joylod Gumbi (78 off 103 balls), Innocent Kaia (32 off 41 balls), all-rounder Sikander Raza (48 off 27 balls), Ryan Bale (47 off 16 balls), Tadiwanshe Marumani (18 not out off six balls) also shone in the batting. For the USA, Abhishek Paradkar took three wickets, Jesse Singh took two wickets and Nostush Kenchige took one wicket.
Coming out with a big target, USA lost the openers early on. Steven Taylor was out for zero and Sushant Modani for six runs. Their top scorer was Abhishek Paradkar who scored 24 runs off 31 balls. Jesse Singh (21) and Gajanand Singh (13) are the other batsmen who crossed the double figure.
