Pakistan has always produced the best fast bowlers in World cricket, and that very aspect has made them one of the most successful teams in the history of this beautiful sport. Their matches are highly unpredictable, and one of the reasons why most of their games are thrilling is the effort put in by their bowlers.
They may not be that potent nowadays, but the Pakistani pacers of yesteryear were known for their art of reverse swinging the ball in hand, and this makes it a good visual. It could be this fact that batters around the world have not managed to score more runs against Pakistan, especially in the ODI format.
This is evident from the fact that no player has scored more than 185 in an ODI since the dawn of this century. They are also one of the teams that have yet to concede an ODI double-century.
Let’s dig deep into the list of the top-10 highest individual ODI scores against Pakistan.
Highest Individual ODI Scores against Pakistan
| Player | Runs (Balls) | 4s/6s | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 183 (148) | 22/1 | Mirpur | 18 Mar 2012 |
| David Warner (AUS) | 179 (128) | 19/5 | Adelaide | 26 Jan 2017 |
| Alex Hales (ENG) | 171 (122) | 22/4 | Nottingham | 30 Aug 2016 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 156 (138) | 12/5 | Adelaide | 28 Jan 2005 |
| Aaron Finch (AUS) | 153* (143) | 11/6 | Sharjah | 24 Mar 2019 |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz(AFG) | 151 (151) | 14/3 | Hambantota | 24 Aug 2023 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 148 (123) | 15/4 | Visakhapatnam | 5 Apr 2005 |
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 146 (128) | 12/6 | Nairobi (Gym) | 30 Aug 2002 |
| Andrew Symonds (AUS) | 143* (125) | 18/2 | Johannesburg | 11 Feb 2003 |
| Desmond Haynes (WI) | 142* (132) | 13/1 | Port of Spain | 18 Mar 1988 |
| Graham Gooch (ENG) | 142 (134) | 14/0 | Karachi | 20 Nov 1987 |
Key insights from the above stats
5: The number of batters in ODI cricket who have scored 150 or more in an ODI innings against the Pakistani bowling attack. They are one of the few Test-playing teams not to concede an ODI double ton, apart from India, England, Afghanistan, and Ireland.
183: Former India captain and stalwart of the game, Virat Kohli, has scored the highest-ever individual score against Pakistan in ODI cricket. Virat made a stunning 183 in India’s must-win Asia Cup 2012 clash against their arch-rivals in Mirpur. In a high-profile chase of 330 to win the match, Virat Kohli played yet another of his famous ODI knocks to steer India to a memorable win, this time over a strong Pakistani bowling team.
179: David Warner’s favourite team seems to be Pakistan, as his best scores in Tests and ODIs have come against Pakistan. Warner made his Test-best score of 335* at the Adelaide Oval against Pakistan in 2019, and two years prior to that, the left-hander smashed his career-best ODI score of 179 against the same opponents, which incidentally was also at Adelaide.
171: Alex Hales has the knack of scoring big scores in the ODI format for England, and when he does, it results in a huge score for his team. The former England opener made a stunning 171 off just 122 balls, and this helped the team amass a mammoth 444, the then-highest team total in ODIs by any side. This 171 by Hales is also the second-highest score by any England player in the format, just behind Jason Roy, who scored 180. This makes the top 3 scores by each of these batsmen against Pakistan their highest-ever individual score in the ODI format to date.
150: The other 2 players who have scored 150 or more against Pakistan are Aaron Finch and Brian Lara. The legendary West Indian batter Lara has 1771 ODI runs and 5 centuries to his credit while playing against the Pakistani side in his storied career. One of the 5 centuries was this sensational 156 off 138 at Adelaide, and this enabled the Windies to accumulate 339 batting first. They eventually won by 58 runs.
Finch, Warner’s longtime opening partner in white-ball cricket, played one of his best ODI knocks in a game against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Ground in 2019. Chasing a formidable 285 to register a win, skipper Finch scored a spectacular unbeaten 153 off just 143 balls to clinch the game for the visiting Australian side.
148: Next up is a sensational knock by MS Dhoni in ODIs that put the former wicketkeeper-batsman on the world’s radar. This was his 5th ODI, and he hadn’t done much in the previous outings till that point. However, when given a promotion to No. 3, Dhoni used that opportunity to great effect as he slammed a breathtaking 148 off just 123 deliveries at Vishakapatnam in 2005, thus announcing his arrival in style.
Also Read: MS Dhoni – ODI Batting Statistics by Batting Positions
146: Matthew Hayden, the former Australian opener, was a dominating batsman throughout his career, and this knock of 146 from a mere 128 deliveries proved why he is considered one of the best in the business. The speciality of this knock was that Pakistan could only respond with 108 to Australia’s score of 332, which was well below Matthew Hayden’s individual tally, and in the end, Australia comfortably won by a massive margin.
143: Yet another time, an Aussie batter gets to feature in the list, and he is Andrew Symonds, who makes an entry with his powerful knock of unbeaten 143 off 125 balls in the ICC World Cup 2003. This makes Symonds’ knock of 143 at the Wanderers the highest-ever score against Pakistan in the ICC ODI World Cups, as the other ones at the top have all come in bilaterals.
142: The 2 batters who have scored 142 runs against Pakistan are Desmond Haynes and Graham Gooch. Haynes’ 142* at the Queen’s Park Oval in 1988 came against Pakistan, and this one was in a winning cause. Batting first, the West Indies made 315 thanks to the efforts of Haynes, eventually winning the game by 50 runs. This was the Windies opener’s first of 4 ODI centuries against Pakistan.
Graham Gooch’s only ODI ton against Pakistan also makes it to this list, and this one came in a rain-affected game at Karachi during England’s tour of Pakistan in 1987. At the top of the order, the former England skipper made a sizable unbeaten 142 out of England’s score of 263/6 in 44 overs and gave the visitors a convincing 23-run win in the end. This was also Gooch’s best innings in terms of runs in an ODI.
