In the modern era of white ball cricket, chasing high-scoring targets has continued to entertain fans by offering an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Particularly, the matches in high-profile tournaments like the ODI World Cup there is high pressure, such that only a few teams have attained glory while the others have collapsed in such tricky circumstances.
However, the scoring rate of the batters in run chases differs compared to their performances achieved in World Cups so far.
Ahead of India’s masterclass performance in the Women’s World Cup 2025 semi-final against Australia, they have managed to chase a 200+ score only once in the WC’s history.
Here are those top five successful run chases that India have accomplished across both men’s and women’s cricket in the ODI World Cup history so far.
341/5 vs Australia in Women’s WC 2025 Semi-Final, Navi Mumbai
The Indian women’s team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, pulled off a sensational victory against the Australians by 5 wickets in the recently concluded semi-final clash.
At one stage, the women in blue’s dream to secure a victory was in jeopardy, having conceded 338 runs in the first innings and losing their in-form batter, Smriti Mandhana (24 runs), at an early stage.
However, a record-breaking 167-run partnership between Jemimah Rodrigues (127 not out) and Harmanpreet Kaur (89 runs) revived India from a subpar start.
Despite the dismissals of the captain, Harmanpreet, followed by Deepti Sharma’s run out (24 runs), Rodrigues held her nerves till the end. She anchored the run chase by forming a crucial 46-run partnership for the 5th wicket with Richa Ghosh (26 runs).
Also, Amanjot Kaur’s unbeaten 8-ball-15-run knock (including 2 fours) wrapped up the run chase with a 5-wicket win.
288/4 vs Zimbabwe in Men’s WC 2015, Auckland
A 288-run chase against Zimbabwe stands as the highest target chased by the Indian team in the men’s World Cup.
Brendan Taylor’s 138-run knock steered Zimbabwe to a competitive score, while India’s top four batters collapsed at 92-4 in 22.4 overs.
But Suresh Raina formed an unbeaten 196-run partnership with his captain, MS Dhoni, for the fifth wicket.
Raina scored an unbeaten 110 runs out of 104 balls (including 9 fours and 2 sixes). While MSD too remained not out and played a composed 85-run knock out of 76 balls (including 8 fours and 2 sixes).
The duo of left and right-hand batting combination guided India to a 6-wicket win with eight balls remaining.
276/4 vs Pakistan in Men’s WC 2003, Centurion
Team India under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy outbeat a star-studded Pakistan line-up in the 36th match of the ODI World Cup 2003.
Saeed Anwar’s century helped the men-in-green post a challenging total of 273 in 50 overs. In response, Sachin Tendulkar guided the run-chase from the front, scoring 98 runs out of 75 balls (including 12 fours and 1 six).
Virender Sehwag (21 runs from 14 balls— including 3 fours and 1 six), despite a short stay at the crease, assaulted Pakistan’s bowling attack in the powerplay.
However, Pakistan was able to get back into the game by claiming the wickets of Sehwag and Ganguly.
But the steady knocks from Yuvraj Singh (50 runs not out from 53 balls— including 6 fours) and Rahul Dravid (44 runs not out from 76 balls— including 2 fours) built a composed 99-run partnership.
Progressing from the top order’s explosive start, the 50+ scores from Yuvraj and Dravid each helped India accomplish the target with 26 balls to spare.
275/4 vs Sri Lanka in Men’s WC 2011 Final, Mumbai
The Indian team chased down a challenging 275-run target against Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup 20211 final.
After losing the opening pair, Virender Sehwag (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (18 runs) in the early phases, the hosts faced a massive setback.
However, Virat Kohli’s supportive knock of 35 runs from 49 balls (including 4 fours) slightly accelerated his team’s innings. Also, an 83-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir took the chase forward.
Gambhir was dismissed after scoring 97 runs out of 122 balls faced (including 9 fours). But it was the captain, MS Dhoni, who concluded with an unbeaten 91-run knock out of 79 balls (including 8 fours and 2 sixes).
MSD ensured his presence till the end and smashed the winning runs with a six to conclude their 28-year wait to clinch the ODI World Cup trophy at home.
Also Read: Jemimah Rodrigues Breaks Silence on her Mental Health Struggles!
274/6 vs New Zealand in Men’s WC 2023, Dharamsala
Until the 2023 World Cup, India had a lackluster track record against New Zealand. Mohammad Shami’s 5-fer restricted the Black Caps below a 300 total (273/10 in 50 overs).
The opening combination of Rohit Sharma (46 runs) and Shubman Gill (26 runs) gave India a quickfire start.
Following the openers’ dismissals, Virat Kohli once again proved his anchoring abilities in a high-pressure run chase. The chase master scored 95 runs off 104 deliveries (including 8 fours and 2 sixes).
Although Kohli fell 5 runs short of registering a memorable ton against the Kiwis, he played a pivotal role in guiding India over the winning line.
With 2 overs to spare, India secured a rousing 4-wicket win to extend their unbeaten streak in the tournament under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
