WC: Australia defeats New Zealand by 5 runs in the highest-scoring ODI match

Australia won a thrilling match against their neighbors New Zealand in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, which produced the highest match aggregates in one-day Internationals. New Zealand, chasing 389 for victory, was inspired by Rachin Ravindra's brilliant century, making it the highest-scoring match in the history of ODIs. Jimmy Neesham's stunning knock of 58 from 39 balls brought them to the brink of an extraordinary victory, but a brilliant run-out in the penultimate ball of the innings ended their hopes. With six runs needed off the last ball, Mitchell Starc kept his cool and denied Lockie Ferguson's attempt to score, as Australia won by just five runs, with New Zealand finishing on 383/9.

A remarkable opening partnership between David Warner (81 off 65) and the returning Travis Head (109 from 67) got Pat Cummins’ side off to a blistering start. Head’s first appearance of the tournament was a memorable one, as he slammed 17 boundaries, including seven maximums, in his brilliant century. Though the opening pair put on 175 in just 19 overs, Australia struggled to build on the platform through the middle overs. Mitchell Marsh (36 from 51 and Marnus Labuschagne (18 from 26) got particularly bogged down, with Glenn Phillips bowling superbly for 3-37 off ten overs, stepping up at just the right time for his team when Lockie Ferguson was forced off with an injury early in his spell.

Glenn Maxwell (41 off 24), Josh Inglis (38 from 28) and Pat Cummins (37 off 14) exploded through the death overs to boost Australia’s score, but their 388 could have been even higher, with New Zealand taking four wickets for just 1 run in the last two overs to bowl their neighbours out for 388. Devon Conway and Will Young provided the perfect start to the Black Caps in a steep chase, hitting a flurry of boundaries to help New Zealand reach 50 in merely 31 balls. However, Australia soon had their first breakthrough, when Conway took on a short delivery from Josh Hazlewood and tried to angle it behind him, with Mitchell Starc taking a stunning grab towards his right and sending the batter back. 

Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell then took control of the Kiwis and kept the chase on track. Mitchell was quite aggressive his 54 included six fours and a six, and his brisk knock came to an end when he holed an Adam Zampa delivery to long-on, where Starc took his third catch of the innings. Ravindra continued from the other end, picking up pace and hitting some big shots after the mid-innings mark. The removal of the dangerous Glenn Phillips was followed by an end to Ravindra’s stunning 89-ball 116, with captain Cummins getting the key wicket to put his team on top.

In his debut match of the tournament, Head opened the batting for Australia and scored an impressive 109 runs off just 67 deliveries. He was ably supported by Warner as they piled on 118 runs without losing a wicket in the first Powerplay. The duo punished the Kiwi bowlers, smashing 10 sixes in the process. Australia's score was further boosted by Maxwell, Inglis, and Cummins, who contributed quickfire knocks in the final powerplay, helping the team reach a massive total of 371 runs. However, the Kiwi bowlers managed to pull things back a bit in the latter half of the innings, with Boult and Phillips taking three wickets each. The absence of Lockie Ferguson, who left the field after experiencing pain in his right Achilles, also hindered the Kiwis. Despite this, both teams managed to create a new record for the highest match aggregate in ODIs, with a total of 771 runs being scored in the match, surpassing the previous record of 696 runs in a match between these two sides in 2007 held at Hamilton.