Highest successful run chases in ODIs at Eden Park, Auckland
Eden Park has a long history of high-scoring one-day contests, and the list of its biggest chases is dominated by the home side, though a few visiting teams have left their own mark on it.
CN takes a look at the records as India open their five-match ODI series in New Zealand at this venue on Wednesday, November 4. The Indian team has bitter memories of the ground, having lost a 307-run chase here to New Zealand in November 2022 and having tied a match in 2014 after falling just short of a 315-run target.
The record book also holds a famous World Cup moment. New Zealand’s semi-final win over South Africa in March 2015 produced one of the most memorable endings in the tournament’s history, with Grant Elliott striking a six off the penultimate ball to settle the result under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
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Highest successful ODI run chases at Eden Park, Auckland: Top 10 list
The ground’s biggest successful chase came on February 18, 2007, when New Zealand overhauled a target of 337 against Australia with five wickets and nearly two overs to spare. They took 48.4 overs to get there, scoring at almost seven runs an over, which was a very high rate for ODI cricket of that period.
Two batters did most of the damage. Ross Taylor made 117 and Craig McMillan added 52, and between them they kept the required rate under control through the middle overs before the lower order finished the job. No team has gone past that total in a chase at the venue in the years since.
The third spot on the list belongs to the 2015 World Cup semi-final, played on March 24, when New Zealand were set 298 under the DLS method after rain affected the match. They reached 299 for 6 in 42.5 overs, a win by four wickets, and the equation was settled only when Elliott hit a six off the penultimate ball of the chase.
The result sent New Zealand into their first World Cup final, and the shot remains one of the best-known moments in the tournament’s history.
Visiting teams have succeeded here more often than the leading figures suggest. Zimbabwe chased 274 for 9 in 48.4 overs against New Zealand on January 7, 2001, while Pakistan reached 264 for 6 on March 21, 1992 and 251 for 3 on March 11, 1989. The West Indies won with 234 for 7 on March 4, 2006, which is the smallest total in the top ten.
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Highest team totals in ODIs at Eden Park, Auckland: Top 10 list
The list is led by the Chappell-Hadlee match of February 2007, which produced the two highest scores ever recorded at the venue. Australia piled up 336 for 4 thanks to an unbeaten 181 from Matthew Hayden, yet New Zealand responded with 340 for 5 in 48.4 overs to complete the biggest chase in the ground’s history. Ross Taylor made a century in that pursuit, and Craig McMillan supported him with a fast-scoring innings.
Two more totals above 310 make up the rest of the top five. In January 2014 Eden Park saw a rare tie, as India drew level with New Zealand’s 314 by finishing on 314 for 9, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja providing a late push from the lower order.
Close behind those twin 314s sits New Zealand’s 311 for 7 against Pakistan in February 2011. That total was built on a brisk 65 from Martin Guptill and aggressive batting through the middle order, and it led to a comfortable 110-run victory.
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