A century of 350-plus totals

England fell 15 short of a brave attempt to chase down 382 in Cuttack, but they did end up reaching a significant milestone: their 366 was the 100th score of 350 or more in ODI history.

For a long time, touching 350 in ODI cricket was considered almost impossible - even when teams batted 60 overs per innings, the highest was Pakistan's 338 versus Sri Lanka in the 1983 World Cup.

The first 350-plus total in ODIs happened in the 1987 World Cup, when West Indies amassed 360 for 4 against Sri Lanka, and it was fitting that the batsman instrumental in making it happen was Viv Richards, who smashed 181 off 125 balls.

The 350 barrier was broken, but such scores were still outliers. The next one came almost five years later, when England made 363 for 7 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 1992. In 1662 ODIs till the end of 2000, there had only been six 350-plus totals. In the four years between 2001 and 2004, the number doubled to 12, but progress was still rather slow. Till the end of 2004, only 0.27% of all ODI innings had witnessed 350-plus totals.

In the next ten years, from 2005 to 2014, the rate increased to almost six such scores every year, which was roughly about 2% of the total ODI innings. At the end of 2014, the number of 350-plus totals stood at 69.

Since the start of 2015, though, there has been an explosion of these high totals: in a little more than two years, 31 more have been made, including seven in the 2015 World Cup, and four in four innings in the ongoing India-England series. In percentage terms, 6.31% of ODI innings have passed 350 since the start of 2015, compared to 2.11% between 2005 and 2014 - that is an increase of 200% in the frequency of such totals. In fact, the frequency of 350-plus scores since the start of 2015 is about as much as the frequency of 300-plus totals in the 2001-04 period.

23 350-plus totals for India, the most by any team. South Africa have 22, followed by Australia's 16.

26 350-plus totals in India, the highest in any country. South Africa have played host to 20 such scores, while no other country has had more than 10.

10 Instances of 350-plus scores in run-chases - three each by England and India, two by South Africa, and one each by New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Seven of these have been in wins: three by India, two by South Africa, and one each for England and New Zealand.

8 Instances of teams losing an ODI after scoring 350 or more in an innings. Australia have suffered the fate four times, England thrice and Sri Lanka once. England's two defeats in the ongoing series is the first time a team has lost two successive games after making 350-plus totals. The only other instance of two defeats in a series for teams scoring 350-plus was when Australia lost in Jaipur and Nagpur in the series against India in 2013.

5 Most 350-plus totals in a bilateral series - there were five such totals in the India-Australia series in 2013. There were four in the England-New Zealand series in 2015, and also in the ongoing India-England one. In all tournaments/ series, the highest is seven, in the 2015 World Cup.