Desk Sports:
South Africa holds the record for the most runs chased in ODI cricket. However, the Proteas fell short while chasing 415 against England in Southampton. They were all out for 72 and lost the match by 342 runs. This is the biggest win in terms of runs in ODI cricket. The previous biggest win was by India; they beat Sri Lanka by 317 runs in 2023.
England batted first and scored 414 runs on centuries from Jacob Bethell and Joe Root. In reply, South Africa, disoriented by Jofra Archer’s pace and Adil Rashid’s incomprehensible spin, were bowled out in 20.5 overs.
No South African batsman could hold his head high against the controlled bowling of the English bowlers. Chasing the target, South Africa got off to a nightmare start, losing 4 wickets for 7 runs. They lost wickets at regular intervals and at one stage lost 9 wickets for 57 runs. Corbin Bosh, who came to the wicket at number 7, made the highest innings of 20 runs off 32 balls, taking South Africa past seventy. Apart from Bosh, only two others managed to reach double figures – Tristan Stubbs (10) and Keshav Maharaj. Jofra Archer took 4 wickets for 18 runs. Adil Rashid took 3 wickets for 13 runs.
England, who had lost the series after losing the first two matches, batted first and scored 414 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Jacob Bethell played an innings of 110 runs off 82 balls with 13 fours and 3 sixes. Joe Root scored 100 runs off 96 balls with 6 fours.
