It's about killing the game in the first innings itself as South Africa are proving
NEW DELHI: The inception of white-ball cricket was based on the need to raise the entertainment quotient in the sport. And it was believed that runs scored at a faster pace was the safest bet to attain that. As cricket evolved over the last four decades, including the birth of an even shorter format of the game, totals have also skyrocketed in ODIs.
While much of the pressure debate happens around the chasing teams, reality suggests the team batting first is also under pressure to put up a huge total on such placid tracks. It's the pressure of chasing 400 while batting first. It's about killing the game in the first innings itself.
Eight runs an over looks very par for the course in modern-day cricket. But to do it over 50 overs, it requires a lot more effort and planning.
"There are still a lot of things that need to go right to get 400. There still needs to be a platform, there still needs to be solid intent through the middle overs, and then you need a sensational finish. Like you need to be powerful at the back end," Glenn Maxwell reckoned after scoring the fastest hundred in World Cup history on Wednesday.
The pressure to get 400 on good surfaces is real. There's still room for an anchor batter in ODI cricket even as it has kind of ceased to exist in T20 cricket. "My job is just to play what's in front of me and get in a partnership with someone to give ourselves the opportunity to have a launch at the back end. We have got some firepower as we saw today. We have Maxwell, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis who can hit the long ball," Steve Smith offered a peek into how to plan a big score for the team.
Maxwell clarified how executing a deadly finish at the back end of an ODI could be difficult. "When South Africa got their 420 here, they had three blokes getting hundreds. And it took something brilliant from Markram to come out and pump it around after a long partnership which is sometimes not easy to do. It's tough to bat after a big partnership in ODI cricket because you're expected to keep that momentum," he said.
The slam-bang template was laid out by England after the 2015 World Cup. Ironically, they are the one team which has failed miserably to execute it during this World Cup. Smith, Maxwell and Markram have harped on the need to have partnerships. England went in with all-or-nothing approach. They have set the standard with most scores of 400 and above over the last six years.
But they have been done in by their own game. Perhaps, they forgot to check the brakes of their car while going into a race. Going by how Australia and South Africa have constructed their big scores, the speeding vehicle needs to work through gears!
1/10:Fourth fastest ODI century
<p>Glenn Maxwell's 40-ball hundred against Netherlands is the fourth fastest ODI century. Ab de Villiers holds the record for a 31-ball ton against West Indies, followed by Corey Anderson's 36-ball hundred vs West Indies and Shahid Afridi's 37-ball century against Sri Lanka. (ANI Photo)<br /></p>
2/10:David Warner level with Sachin Tendulkar
<p>With his 6th century, David Warner came level with the great Sachin Tendulkar to hit six hundreds in ODI World Cup tournaments. India captain Rohit Sharma leads the record with 7 tons in ODI World Cups. (Reuters Photo)<br /></p>
3/10:Fastest World Cup century
<p>Glenn Maxwell's 40-ball hundred against Netherlands is the fastest World Cup century ever. The Aussie hitter broke the record of South Africa's Aiden Markram who hit a 49-ball ton against Sri Lanka in Delhi on October 7, 2023. Glenn Maxwell had also smashed a 51-ball ton against Sri Lanka in Sydney, which is now at the 4th spot in the list. (ANI Photo)<br /></p>
4/10:22 centuries in 121 ODI innings
<p>With back to back World Cup hundreds for the first time, David Warner has recorded 22 centuries in 121 innings in ODIs. Only Ricky Ponting has more hundreds to his credit for Australia - 29 in 364 innings. (Having scored 115 for ICC World XI vs Asia XI at Melbourne on Jan 10, 2005, Ponting's overall tally is 30 in 365 innings. (ANI Photo)<br /></p>
5/10:Largest victory margin
<p>The 309-run victory margin registered by Australia is the largest in terms of runs by any team in the World Cup, obliterating the 275-run win by Australia vs Afghanistan at Perth on March 4, 2015. This is the second biggest ever in the history of ODIs behind the 317-run win by India vs Sri Lanka at Thiruvananthapuram on January 15, 2023. (Reuters Photo)<br /></p>
6/10:Power hitting at its best
<p>106 runs scored by Maxwell in the last ten overs are the highest by an Australian and the fifth most in the history of ODIs. The record is held by AB de Villiers, who had hit 121 vs West Indies at Jo'burg on Jan 18, 2015. (AFP Photo)<br /></p>
7/10:Three successive four-wicket hauls in the ODI World Cup
<p>Adam Zampa took 4/8 against Netherlands to become the first bowler to produce three successive four-wicket hauls in the ODI World Cup. (AFP Photo)<br /></p>
8/10:An unwanted world record
<p>115 runs conceded by Bas de Leede in his ten-over spell while capturing two wickets — is an unwanted world record in an innings in ODIs. (AFP Photo)<br /></p>
9/10:Second highest World Cup total
<p>Australia's 399/8 is their second highest World Cup total behind the 417/6 vs Afghanistan at Perth on March 4, 2015. (ANI Photo)<br /></p>
10/10:10 or more fifty-plus innings in the ODI World Cup
<p>Steve Smith, with 71, became the 2nd Aussie batter to complete 10 or more fifty-plus innings in the ODI World Cup. Ricky Ponting, with 11 such knocks (five hundreds and six fifties) holds the Australian record. (PTI Photo)<br /></p>
