Rohit Sharma's India were in their element during the final league stage game of World Cup 2023 against the Netherlands. With the Diwali festival being celebrated across the nation, the Men in Blue produced fireworks at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in another brilliant outing for the hosts. India mauled the Dutch and broke numerous records down in their 160-run win.
The batters created a few historical records but one such powered them to bigger heights that even the most successful year of an England side went behind the Indians. The hosts of World Cup 2023 scored 410 on a batting-friendly Bengaluru surface and created the record for the most 350+ totals scored by any team in the history of ODI cricket. The record earlier belonged to England.
This was India's 8th score of 350+ in ODIs in 2023, which saw them leapfrog the iconic 2019 year for England, who scored 7 such totals four years before.
Most 350+ totals in a calendar year:
India - 8 in 2023
England - 7 in 2019
South Africa - 6 in 2023
South Africa - 5 in 2015
Australia - 5 in 2023
Rahul, Iyer and batters make merry
It was a wonderful occasion for the Indians. All the top five batters got over at least fifty runs in their run-feast in the game. This became the first instance of five or more of the willow holders from a team scoring fifty-plus in ODI World Cup history. This was only the third such occasion in ODI history that five or more players got over the fifty-run mark in an innings. KL Rahul also scored the fastest century by an Indian in World Cup history - in 62 balls, bettering his captain Rohit Sharma's record by a ball.
Rohit's India continue their unbeaten record in the ODI World Cup 2023 as they now have nine wins in the league phase. They finished on top of the points table and will now lock horns against fourth-placed New Zealand in the first semifinal at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
