Top 10 Highest Team Totals in Cricket World Cup History

Four hundred runs used to be a fantasy in one-day cricket. Now it’s happened seven times at a single tournament format’s showcase event and South Africa alone is responsible for three of the ten biggest innings ever played at a World Cup.

Highest Team Totals in Cricket World Cup History

1) South Africa — 428/5 vs Sri Lanka

Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi — October 7, 2023

The current record. Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram all reached centuries in the same innings — the first time South Africa had produced three centurions in a single World Cup match. Markram’s hundred came off just 49 balls, at the time the fastest in World Cup history. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 326 in under 45 overs, handing South Africa a 102-run win.

2) Australia — 417/6 vs Afghanistan

WACA, Perth — March 4, 2015

David Warner’s 178 off 133 balls anchored an innings that carried Australia through their most dominant World Cup campaign in years. They went on to post 376 against Sri Lanka and 342 against England in the same tournament, then 328 against India in the semi-final to reach a final they’d go on to win — their fifth title.

3) India — 413/5 vs Bermuda

Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain — March 19, 2007

India’s only real high point in an otherwise disastrous 2007 campaign, in which early losses to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh knocked them out before the Super Eights. Virender Sehwag’s 114 off 87 balls, with 17 fours and three sixes, led the innings alongside contributions from Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar. Anil Kumble’s three second-innings wickets sealed Bermuda’s dismissal for 156.

4) South Africa — 411/4 vs Ireland

Manuka Oval, Canberra — 2015

Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis both scored centuries to lay the platform, before David Miller and Rilee Rossouw added 110 more in under nine overs to push the total past 411. South Africa went on to win by 201 runs, bowling Ireland out for 210.

5) India — 410/4 vs Netherlands

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru — November 12, 2023

India’s top five all passed fifty in the same innings — the first time that had happened at a men’s World Cup. Shreyas Iyer’s 128 off 94 balls and KL Rahul’s 102 off 64 anchored a 208-run stand that put the match out of reach before the Dutch had a chance to compete. Rahul’s century, reached in 62 balls, was the fastest by an Indian batter in World Cup history at the time. The total was India’s eighth score of 350-plus in ODIs during the 2023 calendar year — more than any team had managed in a single year before.

6) South Africa — 408/5 vs West Indies

Sydney Cricket Ground — February 27, 2015

AB de Villiers produced one of the great innings in the format’s history, finishing unbeaten on 162 off just 66 balls with 17 fours and eight sixes. Along the way he reached the fastest 150 in ODI history, getting there in 64 balls. His Man-of-the-Match performance helped South Africa beat West Indies by 257 runs.

7) New Zealand — 401/6 vs Pakistan

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru — 2023

The seventh score of 400-plus in World Cup history — and the only one to end in defeat. Rachin Ravindra (108) and Kane Williamson (95) put together a 180-run stand off just 142 balls that looked unassailable, until Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten century kept Pakistan ahead of the DLS asking rate through a rain-hit chase, sealing the win before the match could even be completed at 200/1 off 25 overs.

8) South Africa — 399/7 vs England

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai — October 21, 2023

South Africa’s third 2023 entry on this list came in a group match where Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks put on 121 for the second wicket after both openers had already reached fifty. Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen then added 151 together to push the total past 399 — Klaasen reaching his century in just 61 balls. South Africa were the tournament’s most consistent big-scoring side, passing 350 in every innings except one group match in Lucknow.

9) Australia — 399/8 vs Netherlands

Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi — 2023

David Warner’s century set the platform, but Glenn Maxwell stole the innings with a 40-ball century — still the fastest in World Cup history. Australia went on to win by 309 runs, the largest margin of victory in the tournament’s history, capping a turnaround campaign after they’d lost their first two matches.

10) Sri Lanka — 398/5 vs Kenya

Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy — March 6, 1996

The innings that first proved 400 was within reach in one-day cricket. Aravinda de Silva’s 145 off 115 balls, with 14 fours and five sixes, anchored a total built alongside fifties from Asanka Gurusinha and captain Arjuna Ranatunga. It stood as the highest total in ODI history for a decade. Kenya’s Steve Tikolo fought hard for 96, but Sri Lanka won by 144 runs.

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