3 recent times India won a match off the last ball

It wouldn’t be unfair to say its India’s reign in limited overs format cricket. Hardly any team has looked comfortable or dangerous against India in the recent times. Although the most hyped India-Pakistan clash happened twice in the recently concluded Asia Cup, sadly neither of them stood up to the expectations of the fans.

It’s also to be appreciated that the so-called ‘minnows’ like Afghanistan, Bangladesh provided some worth the money moments to the Indian fans with nail-biting moments in their encounters with the men in blue. A perfect match is one such match which goes on till the last ball to decide the winner with the pendulum swinging across the teams throughout the match.

Here we list 3 such matches where India seized the match in the very last ball:

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#1 India vs Bangladesh 2018, Asia Cup finals

The final of the recently completed Asia Cup between India and Bangladesh was a nerve-wracking affair. India won the toss in the all-important clash and decided to bowl first. Bangladesh batting started explosively with Liton Das smashing boundaries at ease along with the experimental opener Mehidy Hasan. The CT 2017 finals flashed across the minds of cricketing fans for a while. India heaved a sigh of relief when Kedar Jadhav broke the opening partnership.

After that, it was India all the way as the Bangla tigers couldn’t stand face the Indian attack and were bowled out for 222. Chasing 223, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals as none of the batsmen converted the starts they got. Kedar Jadhav who was going well had to return to the pavilion as he suffered from Hamstring Injury.

Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed the pressure with occasional boundaries. India still required 13 off last 18 balls with 4 wickets remaining. As Jadeja nicked an edge to Rahim, Jadhav was forced to return to the crease. India required 9 off last 12 balls. With an excellent over from Mustafizur Rahman, it came down to run-a-ball last over to clinch the title. Indians fans didn’t find any nails to bite. Kuldeep Yadav who was in strike guided the ball across long off thus stealing a single. 5 runs off 5 balls, yet another single from Jadhav to make it 4 off 4.

A confident shot from Kuldeep gained 2 crucial runs for India as the equation was down to 2 off 3. Jadhav returned to strike for the final ball as 1 off 1 ball was required. Mahmudullah bowled the final ball, Jadhav couldn’t find bat but fortunately, it had hit the pads and ran towards the fine leg boundary. Jadhav stole a single and India had won the match. A fitting climax to the Asia Cup 2018, to be remembered until next edition.

#2 India vs Australia 3rd T20I, Jan 2016

Nowadays, low scoring encounters provide the much-needed thrillers than the high scoring ones. However, high scoring clashes never fail to amaze us. This match is an evidence of the same. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Wickets kept falling at one end while Shane Watson had no fade throughout the inning as he smashed it all across the ground. Travis Head gave a fine support to the Watson as Australia finished at 197-5. Shane Watson remained not out with 124 runs, his first century in T20Is.

India in reply started with a positive intent and steadied their innings with regular boundaries. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli crafted the chase well. Both of them got out in a short span of time and pressure was back on India. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh made sure to take it deep. Although they progressed well the run rate keep ticking. 21 runs were required of 12 balls, the man of the night Shane Watson bowled an excellent penultimate over that left India needing 17 off last 6 balls.

Yuvraj Singh, who was having a great series, smashed the first 2 deliveries to 4 and 6 thus reducing the equation to 7 off 4. Andrew Tye who was bowling the last over couldn’t find any way for dot or wicket as India stole the singles to bring down the equation. 2 runs were required off the last delivery. Tye bowled a short ball to Raina who punched it over point for four thus completing a breath-taking run chase.

#3 India vs Bangladesh Nidahas trophy final, March 2018

Although the much-hyped India- Pakistan don’t excite the fans anymore, the encounters against Bangladesh have been much exciting in the recent past. Rohit Sharma, leading the team in the absence of Kohli, decided to field first after winning the toss. Sabbir Rahman played a good knock of 77 that helped the Bangla tigers post 166 at the end of their innings. India got to a mediocre start as Dhawan and Raina falling in the consecutive overs. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul rescued the team with a 51 run partnership but when both got at 98, India still required 69 runs in 40 balls. Vijay Shankar was sent ahead of Dinesh Karthik. Bangladesh made it really hard for India to find gaps and thus rising the run rate. 35 runs were required off last 18 balls. Mustafizur was outstanding with the ball as his 18th over saw 4 consecutive dot balls before Vijay Shankar stole a single with a leg bye. Manish Pandey got out of the last ball with 34 more required from 12 balls.

Rubel Hossain came to bowl the penultimate over. The world got to know the real face of Dinesh Karthik as he smashed 2 sixes and 2 fours thus accumulating 22 runs in that over. The job wasn’t yet done, 12 off last 6 balls with Vijay Shankar who had a forgettable night at the crease. Soumya Sarkar was given the ball to defend 12 runs. Vijay Shankar’s struggle continued as he scored just 2 runs off first 3 deliveries. Yet another single from Karthik saw Shankar back on strike.

Shankar finally got some bat on the ball and scored his first boundary of the night. India still needed 5 runs off 2 balls, Shankar got out the penultimate ball with the equation reading 5 off 1. Hardly any fans sat on their chairs as the panic rushed through the blood. Sarkar bowled the most important ball of the tournament. It was a low full toss, Karthik hit it flat that sailed across the boundary, India had won the match. Karthik was the man of the moment who saved the team.