Australia equalled the existing world record when they successfully chased their target against Pakistan on 10 November in the third and final Limited Overs International match to score 316 runs. This is the highest ever score made by a team batting second (chasing a target) and winning. Although Sri Lanka had scored 329 against West Indies four years ago, they had lost by a whikser when Hashan Tillekeratne's brave innings ended with a catch on the boundary line.
The other world record for the highest runs scored when chasing a target successfully belonged to India, when they beat Pakistan last year in that exciting third and last final at Dhaka when Kanitkar dispatched Saqlain Mushtaq's delivery over mid wicket for a winning four.
The following table lists the highest totals made by teams when chasing a target together with details such as whether the match was day/night and the margins of victory/defeat.
Total Overs For Vs Ground Date *DN Result of match 329-10 49.3 SL WI Sharjah 16 Oct 1995 N Lost by 4 runs 316- 4 48.5 Aus Pak Lahore 10 Nov 1998 N Won by 6 wkts 316- 7 47.5 Ind Pak Dhaka 18 Jan 1998 N Won by 3 wkts 315-10 49.4 Pak SL Singapore 02 Apr 1996 N Lost by 34 runs 313- 7 49.2 SL Zim New Plymouth 23 Feb 1992 N Won by 3 wkts 301-10 49.3 SL Ind Colombo (Khettarama) 07 Jul 1998 Y Lost by 6 runs 300- 7 50.0 Ind SL Colombo (Khettarama) 17 Aug 1997 Y Lost by 2 runs 300- 6 48.0 Pak SL Kimberley 07 Apr 1998 N Won by 4 wkts 298- 6 54.5 NZ Eng Leeds 23 May 1990 N Won by 4 wkts 298- 9 50.0 NZ RSA Brisbane 09 Jan 1998 Y Lost by 2 runs 297- 6 48.5 NZ Eng Adelaide 29 Jan 1983 N Won by 4 wkts 297- 5 48.1 RSA WI Lahore 03 Nov 1997 Y Won by 5 wkts 292-10 49.2 Ind Pak Chennai 21 May 1997 Y Lost by 35 runs Note: DN = 'Y' means the match was a floodlit (day/night) LOI match.
Just for the record, Pakistan have been beaten in a home series in all the matches only for the second time ever. The only previous instance was when England beat them 3-0 after the 1987-88 Reliance World Cup.
Contributed by: Atul Kahate (atul.kahate@db.com)