ODIs have been a format, India have excelled in over the years but there have been any times where the Indian team just didn’t show up on a particular day and were outclassed by the opposition in almost all departments of the game. Let’s take a look at the top 3 biggest losses in ODIs for India in terms of runs.
3) India vs Pakistan (2017, 180 runs)
India was the undisputed favourite as it was another final, and this one an ICC tournament. Nevertheless, nobody spoke up for India that day at The Oval in London other than a teenage Hardik Pandya. India, which defeated Pakistan by a score of 124 runs (using the D/L method) in their Group B encounter, first gave up 338/4 before being bowled out for 158 in 30.3 overs. When Fakhar Zaman scored 114 runs off 106 balls, Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali each took three wickets. On 76 off 43, Pandya was left stranded. Yuvraj Singh, with a 22 off 31 total, was India’s second-best scorer.
2) India vs South Africa (2015, 214 runs)
A five-match series was tied 2-2 after four intensely contested games before India fell short in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. On that crucial day, nothing went right for India. After winning the toss, South Africa amassed 438/4, with centuries from Quinton de Kock (109 off 87), Faf du Plessis (133 off 115), and AB de Villiers (119 off 61).
India’s response saw them dismissed for 224 in 35.5 overs, which ranks as their second-largest run defeat. This was the game where the Wankhede stadium supported AB De Villiers while he was batting which was very shocking for the Indian players.
1) India vs Sri Lanka (2000, 245 runs)
Twenty two years ago, on October 29, 2000, in Sharjah, India lost to Sri Lanka in the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy 2000 finals by an overwhelming margin of 245 runs, which also happens to be their biggest defeat in the ODI format of cricket.
Sanath Jayasuriya’s blistering innings, which included 189 runs in 161 balls and was his highest ODI score and the second-highest individual ODI score at the time, behind Saeed Anwar’s 194 runs against India in 1997, helped Sri Lanka make a huge score of 299/5 while batting first on the small Sharjah field.