Head, Ravindra star in the most run-filled World Cup game

Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra were the standout performers in the most run-filled World Cup contest ever, with Australia defeating New Zealand by five runs in a thrilling last-over finish in Dharamsala on Saturday, October 28.

Here are the key stats from the photo-finish at the HPCA Stadium:

771 runs scored by the two teams combined today is the highest ever in a World Cup match, bettering the 754 scored in the game between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Delhi earlier in this edition. Overall, it was the fifth-highest aggregate in an ODI.

383/9 scored by New Zealand is the highest ever in a World Cup chase, and the fourth-highest across all ODIs. It also happens to be the highest ever World Cup team total in a losing cause.

Highest second innings scores in ODIs

438/9 – SA vs AUS, Johannesburg, 2006 (won)
411/8 – SL vs IND, Rajkot, 2009 (lost)
389 – WI vs ENG, St George’s, 2019 (lost)
383/9 – NZ vs AUS, Dharamsala, 2023 (lost)
374/9 – NED vs WI, Harare, 2023 (tied, NED won the Super Over)

Highest WC totals in a losing cause

383/9 – NZ vs AUS, Dharamsala, 2023
344/9 – SL vs PAK, Hyderabad, 2023
334/9 – ENG vs PAK, Nottingham, 2019
333/8 – BAN vs AUS, Nottingham, 2019
327/8 – ENG vs IRE, Bengaluru, 2011

32 sixes were hit in the match, 20 by Australia and 12 by New Zealand, which was one-short of an all-time World Cup record. Australia’s 20 sixes is also the second highest in a team innings in World Cups.

Most sixes hit in a World Cup match

33 – ENG vs AFG, Manchester, 2019
32 – AUS vs NZ, Dharamsala, 2023
31 – NZ vs WI, Wellington, 2015
31 – SA vs SL, Delhi, 2023
25 – AUS vs PAK, Bengaluru, 2023

Most sixes in a team innings in World Cups

25 – ENG vs AFG, Manchester, 2019
20 – AUS vs NZ, Dharamsala, 2023
19 – WI vs ZIM, Canberra, 2015
19 – AUS vs PAK, Bengaluru, 2023
19 – SA vs BAN, Mumbai WS, 2023

97 boundaries were hit in the game (65 fours and 32 sixes), making for the second highest boundary count in World Cups after the 105 hit in the South Africa and Sri Lanka game in Delhi.

4 straight innings in which Adam Zampa has bagged at least three wickets, the joint-longest such sequence in World Cup history, alongside five others.

Bowlers with at least three wickets in most consecutive WC innings

4 – Brett Lee, 2003
4 – Chaminda Vaas (2003)
4 – Glenn McGrath, 2007
4 – Shahid Afridi (2007-11)
4 – Jofra Archer, 2019
4 – Adam Zampa (2023)

23 consecutive World Cup outings in which Mitchell Starc bagged at least one wicket, the streak ending today in his 24th match. The second-longest sequence is 13 by Glenn McGrath, which came across Australia’s victorious campaigns in 2003 and 2007.

2 batters have registered two World Cup hundreds before turning 26, the first being Sachin Tendulkar (at 22y, 313d) and the second Rachin Ravindra (at 23y, 244 days). Ravindra also became the fourth New Zealander to register two (or more) World Cup hundreds in a single edition, after Glenn Turner in 1975, Martin Guptill in 2015 and Kane Williamson in 2019.

77 balls taken by Rachin Ravindra made it the fastest World Cup hundred by a New Zealander, bettering his own record of 82 balls, which was achieved in the tournament opener against England. That was after Devon Conway had completed his hundred off 83 balls in the same innings.

9.13 The partnership run-rate of 9.13 in the 175-run stand between David Warner and Travis Head is now the highest for any 150-plus opening partnership in ODIs.

59 balls taken by Travis Head to complete his hundred made him the fourth fastest Australian to reach the milestone in an ODI innings. It happened to be the fastest hundred on World Cup debut, well ahead of the next best – off 81 balls – by David Miller against Zimbabwe in Hamilton in 2015. Head also became the fifth Australian to register a hundred on World Cup debut.

Fastest ODI hundreds for Australia (by balls taken)