Top five One Day matches that ended in a tie

West Indies and Pakistan played a tied-match at St Lucia last night with Jason Holder managing to scramble through for a second run as Umar Akmal failed to gather an incoming throw from the boundary. The thrill of last ball finishes epitomizes all that is good in the shorter format of the game. After competing for a large part of the game, it all comes down to the last run or the last wicket. Every team that plays cricket, competes to win and in such a situation a tie leaves a strange taste in the mouth of the teams in most situations whereas it creates a spectacle for audiences that has a long lasting after taste.

The shortest format of the game produces a greater probability of such results and hence a system of deciding the tie has been formulated. However, the super-over or the bowl out remains excessive to the concept of an ODI as a tie seems a justified result unless a piece of silverware is at stake. The 3rd ODI between Pakistan and West Indies will join the gradually evolving list of tied one-day international matches. The time is ripe for us to have a look back at some of the most exciting tied one-day internationals of the past:

South Africa vs. Australia, 1999 World Cup, Semi-Final

Who can forget this match! Certainly the greatest of all tied matches as it left a legacy that continues to live in South Africa’s ‘choker’s tag’ not to forget that Australia won the world cup eventually. Chasing Australia’s moderate total of 213, South Africa slipped after a steady start as the middle order collapsed including a Hansie Cronje duck. Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes resurrected the innings but deserted the innings at a critical stage leaving Lance Klusener to finish the job. One of the greatest finishers of the game, Klusener was dropped by Paul Reiffel at the boundary line when the Proteas required 16 runs of 8 balls with only a single wicket in hand. With 9 runs required of the last over, Klusner was holding his nerve has he pummeled Damien Fleming for two boundaries of the first two balls. South Africa needed a single run to win. Klusner pulled the ball down the wicket and called for a run but Donald dropped his bat and did not respond as the two batsmen ended at the bolwer’s end as Australia completed the run-out with Fleming relaying the ball to Gilchrist. Australia went through to the final having a superior position on the super six table.

3rd ODI, Hyderabad, Pakistan’s tour of India 1987

This match played between arch rivals India and Pakistan has been lost in the archives but it holds a unique position in this list. India made a total of 212 runs batting first thanks to Kapil Dev‘s knock of 59 in the lower-middle order. Pakistan had a steady start and Saleem Malik anchored the innings scoring 84 runs but there was a string of dismissals in the last few overs. Pakistan needed 2 runs of the last ball as Kapil Dev measured his run-up. A tie given no more wickets fell would have secured the match for Pakistan as they were ahead at the 25 over mark but nobody passed this information to the men in the middle. Qadir was run-out trying an impossible second run and though the scores were tied, India were declared winners because they had lost fewer wickets. Interestingly, India had only 3 players in the ring on the final ball – an infringement the umpires failed to note.

India vs. England, World Cup 2011, Group B Match

The tied match was a very high-scoring affair as England matched India’s mammoth total of 338 runs. Sachin Tendulkar scored a brilliant century even as Tim Bresnan finished with a five-for. Captain Andrew Strauss took the responsibility of replying scoring a massive knock of 158 runs in just 145 balls. India had to pull it back from 281 for 2 to 307 for 7 but Piyush Chawla almost gave it away in the penultimate over as Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann played a couple of brave shots. 5 runs were required of three balls and Swann looked like a typical tail-end batsman on the crease edging and scrambling through for byes. England managed a single run of the last ball when 2 were required. This match saw the most runs scored in a tied ODI.

5th ODI, India vs. Sri Lanka, Commonwealth Bank Series 2012

This match was played in Australia as a part of the Tri-Series. India were given a target of 237 runs to chase down. Dinesh Chandimal top-scored for Sri Lanka with an impressive innings of 81. Gautam Gambhir anchored at one end even as wickets continued to fall at the other end but his contribution of 91 runs went a long way in securing the tie for India. MS Dhoni‘s presence at the crease at the beginning of the last over with just 9 runs required would have soothed a lot of nervous Indian fans back home but this was going to be the rare incomplete job. Requiring 4 runs of the last ball, MS Dhoni managed to strike the ball but Senanayake saved it at the cover boundary restricting India to 3 runs.

2nd ODI,Melbourne, South Africa’s tour of Australia 2000

The memories of 1999 had hardly faded away when Australia and South Africa engaged in another tied contest. This was going to be South Africa’s revenge in a sense as Australia were cruising along during their chase of South Africa’s total of 226 with Michael Bevan and Steve Waugh on the crease in the 49th over. Andrew Hall who had only bowled 2 overs was handed the ball to bowl that penultimate over and he delivered both those crucial wickets bringing the match to an exciting finish in the last over. Jason Gillespie was run out by Shaun Pollock on the fourth ball of the over when 4 runs were still required for victory. Australia could only manage 3 and that meant the two teams shared another tie but with radically different emotions going around.