India has always been one of the toughest teams when it comes to ODI cricket. They are second in the list of teams with the most number of ODI wins and are the second most successful team, along with the West Indies, when it comes to World Cups, having won twice. Apart from that, India has won the ICC Champions Trophy twice, and this makes them one of the most complete teams in ODIs, just next to Australia.
The Indian team has had some of the world’s best batters generation after generation, but the current crop of bowling attack makes them an all-round team and far more dominant than in the preceding years. There have been several dominant victories for the team in the format over the past few years, and we will look at each of them.
Here are the 5 biggest margins of wins for India in ODI cricket.
Biggest Run Margin Victories for India in ODI
| Win Margin | Target | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 317 runs | 391 | Sri Lanka | Thiruvananthapuram | 15 Jan 2023 |
| 302 runs | 358 | Sri Lanka | Wankhede | 2 Nov 2023 |
| 257 runs | 414 | Bermuda | Port of Spain | 19 Mar 2007 |
| 256 runs | 375 | Hong Kong | Karachi | 25 Jun 2008 |
| 243 runs | 327 | South Africa | Eden Gardens | 5 Nov 2023 |
Won by 317 runs vs Sri Lanka | Thiruvananthapuram, 2023
India’s 2023 dominance over Sri Lanka in ODI cricket started as early as January when the Sri Lankan team toured the country for a short tour. After a relatively competitive contest in the first 2 games, India produced a ruthless performance in the third and final ODI game at Thiruvananthapuram.
Batting first, India amassed a massive 390/5 in their 50 overs, with Virat Kohli smashing his 10th ODI century against Sri Lanka. He made an unbeaten 166, and he had great company in the form of Shubman Gill, who also scored a scintillating century.
Sri Lanka was no match for the might of Indian bowling, especially Mohammad Siraj, who picked his then-best figures of 4/32, and it helped India bundle out the Lankan team for a mere 73 runs, thus winning by a massive 317 runs. This gave them their biggest-ever win in ODI cricket by runs, and this is also the largest win for any team in this format.
Also Read | Virat Kohli ODI Runs against Each Team
Won by 302 runs vs Sri Lanka | Mumbai (Wankhede), 2023
India is the only team in ODI history to have won 2 or more ODI games by a margin of 300 or more runs, and both times it came against the Sri Lankan side. As mentioned, India dominated Sri Lanka in 2023, and in this World Cup fixture, India hammered Sri Lanka by 302 runs.
Inserted into batting first, India made the best use of the batting conditions at the Wankhede by dominating the Lankan bowlers. Though there wasn’t a big score posted by any Indian batter, they had three 80-plus scores (by Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Shubman Gill), which were enough for the team to post a mighty 357 on the board.
The Indian bowlers took care of the rest as they did in the previous encounter against Sri Lanka. Siraj started the procession of wickets by pocketing 3 of the top 4 Lankan batters before Shami got into the act, picking up his second five-wicket haul of the 2023 World Cup.
Also Read | Top 10: Most Five-Wicket Hauls in ODI World Cup History
Won by 257 runs vs Bermuda | Port of Spain, 2007
India may have endured a disappointing World Cup campaign in 2007, where they bowed out in the Group Stages after defeats against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. But it didn’t deter them from registering their highest total in World Cups.
In a Group Stage game against Bermuda, just after their shocking defeat to Bangladesh, India hammered their highest World Cup total of 413 (the third-highest total by India overall), with Virender Sehwag slamming a century and 3 other players scoring rapid-fire half-centuries.
Bermuda was never going to be in the contest after this onslaught by India. They did fight, with the bat scoring 156, but they were never in the game against an experienced Indian bowling attack. India won the only game of the campaign comprehensively by 257 runs, and it stood as India’s largest-ever win till 2023.
Won by 256 runs vs Hong Kong | Karachi, 2008
This was an Asia Cup 2008 game in Karachi, and the opponents were a lesser-fancied Hong Kong team. India had a great start, with openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir providing the team with a blazing start.
Capitalising on the same, the then-skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina cracked centuries each to propel India’s total to 374/4. With a daunting chase ahead of them, Hong Kong collapsed to the spin of Piyush Chawla, who picked 4/23, as India bundled them out for a mere 118 runs, storming to a 256-run win.
Won by 243 runs vs South Africa | Kolkata, 2023
Yet another 2023 World Cup game where India dominated the contest, leaving their opponent in disarray. This time the opponent was a strong South Africa that had a strong batting line-up to go with a gun-bowling attack.
Batting first on a tough batting surface at Eden Gardens, India managed to post a more than competitive 326 on the board, with Virat Kohli scoring his record-equalling 49th ton.
South African batters didn’t have any answers to India’s lethal bowling attack as they succumbed to their second-lowest ODI total (83) in ODI history and the lowest for them in the World Cup as Ravindra Jadeja ran through the batting line-up, picking up a five-wicket haul in the process. This gave India their fifth-biggest win in ODIs.
