ODI Superpowers: Most consecutive wins for a team in ODIs in men’s cricket
A champion team isn’t made overnight. It requires several world-class players to gel well and has good chemistry on the field. Every win goes into making a world-beating team. And in a sport like a cricket, which has limited numbers of countries playing ODIs, each team possesses a certain quality, and any team can beat the other on their day. In such a sport, to get on a winning streak, especially when the matches are quite spaced out, is a fantastic achievement. Let us have a look at most consecutive wins for a team in ODIs in men’s cricket.
5. West Indies (1984-1985) – 11
The West Indies team of the 70s and 80s is perhaps the most fearsome side to have ever played the game. They were almost invincible. Hence, it was inevitable for that team to be present here. Their 11-match streak started against England on 4th June, 1984. Their next win came on 6th January 1985 against Australia, which also shows the gap between two ODI series at that point in time. Australia, West Indies and Sri Lanka were part of a tri-series called Benson and Hedges World Series Cup 1984/1985. In this series, West Indies went on an absolute rampage and won 10 games on the trot, not losing a single game in the group stage. They completely dominated both the teams. West Indies’ streak, however, came to an end as Australia beat them in the first finals of the Cup. Eventually, West Indies had made a comeback and won the 2nd and 3rd finals, to lift the cup. Because they played their second ODI after a long gap, the streak went for a duration of 248 days.
4. South Africa (2016-2017) – 12
The only team to feature in this list twice is South Africa. This decade the teams have been more evenly matched and hence for a team to win 12 games on the trot is even more remarkable. The South African team’s streak began against Ireland in a one-off ODI on 25th September 2016. This was followed by an astounding whitewash of the mighty Aussies, as they were beaten 5-0 by the Proteas at home. It was the first time the Aussies had been whitewashed in an ODI bilateral series. South Africa didn’t stop there. They went after Sri Lanka next who were touring them, and whitewashed them by 5-0 as well, completing two series of absolute dominance. Their 12th win came against New Zealand in their first ODI in their tour of New Zealand. The Kiwis struck back in the next game, bringing to an end a remarkable 151-day streak.
3. Pakistan (2007-2008) – 12
The Pakistan side of the 2000s, while being inconsistent, was quite intimidating. It had the perfect blend of youth and experience. They used this blend to their best as they equalled South Africa’s streak of 12 wins. Their streak started on 18th November 2007, with a victory over arch-rivals, India. Pakistan then went on to win 5 consecutive games against Zimbabwe in a bilateral series. They followed this up with 5 more consecutive wins against Bangladesh, in yet another bilateral series. They extended their streak with a 6th consecutive win over Bangladesh in the Kitply Cup which also involved India. And India it was that finally brought Pakistan’s streak to an end, defeating them by 140 runs in the 2nd game of the Kitply Cup. Pakistan’s winning streak went on for 206 days.
2. South Africa (2005) – 12
The South African side of the mid-2000s was almost as good as the Aussies. They had a complete team and played some fearless cricket. Their winning streak began on 13th February 2005, with a narrow 3-wicket win over England. While Australia defeated almost every nation during their streak, owing to the World Cup, South Africa came down heavily on just a few particular teams. They won 3 consecutive games against Zimbabwe, 5 against West Indies and 3 against NZ. Their streak came to an end in the most unfortunate way. The 4th match against NZ was unfortunately called off due to excessive rain. The no results status of the match officially halted South Africa’s dream run. Their streak had gone on for as long as 265 days, and perhaps would have gone on for longer if the rain hadn’t played spoilsport.
1. Australia (2003) – 21
The Australian Cricket team of the 2000s is considered to be one of the most dominant and consistent teams across the era. They just had the perfect mix of players, who on their day could single-handedly win a game. Their incredible 21-match winning streak started on 11th January 2003, after they defeated England by 7 runs in one of the games of VB series. And then there was no stopping them. They defeated England, and Sri Lanka, the other team in the VB series, multiple times over the course of the next couple of weeks. This Tri-series was followed by the highly anticipated Cricket World Cup. Australia had a record-smashing World Cup, winning 11 straight games to lift the trophy. Hardly was such dominance seen before. Their 21-match streak was finally broken by West Indies in West Indies, in a series after the World Cup. After winning 4 games on the trot, Aussies lost the 5th one by 39 runs, bringing to an end a streak which lasted 21 games and 135 days.
Australia holds the record for most consecutive ODI wins by a team.#Cricket #ODI #Record #Australia #Playdiator pic.twitter.com/PRbdDH0aG6
— PLAYDIATOR- Sports Management App (@Playdiator_app) May 17, 2020
