London: England could be the first team to score 500 runs in ODIs, India captain Virat Kohli said in jest as captains could not agree on the scoring trends in what is expected to be a high-scoring World Cup.
With 481 for six against Australia last year, England already holds the record for the highest ODI total. In its build to the World Cup, it outplayed Pakistan 4-0 in a high-scoring series.
At the captains’ media interaction ahead of the mega event, Kohli was asked if the 500-run mark could be breached in this edition.
“I was just going to say it really depends on these guys. They seem to be obsessed with getting to 500 before anyone else,” said Kohli, pointing to his English counterpart Eoin Morgan, sitting next to him.
Kohli conceded that the tournament will see a run-fest, but the pressure of playing in a World Cup will make even 260-270 hard to chase.
“It is going to be a high-scoring tournament, but back home too I said 260-270 will also will be as tough to get in a World Cup as chasing 370-380. I don’t see many high-scoring games in the latter stages of the tournament, initially some teams might get on a roll, but later on you will see 250 defended as well. That is the kind of pressure the World Cup brings.”
The Indian skipper expects teams to be more cautious as the tournament progresses. “Not all the teams are going to be in a great position (in the latter half). The ones who have to make sure that they get the result are going to be under pressure to chase even a small total. The fact that you are going to be close to a knock out berth will get you under pressure in the latter stages and all teams recognise that.
“Then you will not see many teams going gung-ho from ball one. Generally both teams would like to start in a balanced way and look to capitalise on the moments. So I see pressure being a massive factor in the World Cup.”
The same question was posed to Australian captain Aaron Finch, who was also part of the 2015 World Cup winning squad.
“If you see the last couple of years, trajectory of scores has been going up and up in England. We have been at the receiving end of the highest one. I don’t want to put a number one it. Hard to tell (what could be the highest-score in the tournament).
