Cricket is a game of chance, they say. On many occasions, the saying has proved to be true. Though not too often, we have seen a team lose from a winning position due to some marvellous performances by one or two players. The change in the result is so unexpected that one who watched the match for around 90 % of the day, would not believe it unless he watches the highlights again. Below is the list of top 8 such matches where the match shifted its tilt and weighed in the balance of the losing side. They are placed randomly, but number 8 is my all-time favourite and the reason is mentioned therein.
#8 Sri Lanka vs Australia, 22 Feb 2004, Dambulla
This one stands out from the others as it did not involve some big hitting by a batsman or a brilliant wicket-taking spell by a bowler. It changed in just one over. No wicket fell, no major drama, and still the match had flipped dramatically.
Sri Lanka, despite an opening stand of 121 runs and a third wicket partnership of 70, could score only 244 runs. They suffered a major collapse in middle and lower order courtesy of some innocuous bowling by Michael Clarke (5 wickets).
Trending
Australia were cruising towards victory after a 148 run partnership for the 2nd wicket despite losing their first wicket without scoring a single run. The Aussies then suffered a mini-collapse and reached 192 for the loss of 5 wickets. Australia required 56 runs in the last ten overs, with Andrew Symonds and the finisher Michael Bevan at the crease. Both played carefully and Australia required just 8 off the final over with two set batsman playing.
Chaminda Vaas came to bowl the final over. He conceded two singles off the first two balls and then bowled two dot balls to Symond. Another single in the fifth ball of the over meant the Aussies required five to win off the last ball. Bevan struck the ball high in the air, and could only come back for three after Sangakkara dropped the catch at extra cover. Sri Lanka had thus pulled off one of the most silent and unexpected victories in cricket history.
#7 England vs Ireland March 2 2011 at Bangalore
In the 2011 World Cup game, England batting first posted a huge total of 327 against their neighbours Ireland. Trott and Bell shared a 167 run partnership and scored 92 and 81 respectively.
Nobody gave Ireland a chance before the game and England’s brilliant showing with the bat only enhanced that belief. Things looked heading that way as Ireland were reduced to 111-5 after 25 overs. With 216 runs required from 25 overs, it was all but over.
What followed however was one of the most incredible heists in the history of cricket. Kevin O'Brien started his onslaught scoring 50 off 30 balls and another 50 off the next 20. His 63-ball 113 gave Irish fans hope of a major upset. The major harm had been done by the time he fell 10 runs short of the target.
With 7 wickets down, Mooney and Johnston carried on Brien’s mission and won the match with 5 balls to spare.
#6 Australia vs West Indies, Jan 1, 1996 at Sydney Cricket Ground
In the 5th match of the Benson and Hedges series, West Indies won the toss and decided to bat first against the Aussies. A superb bowling spell by Paul Reiffel left West Indies stumbling at 28-3. Shane Warne’s assault further hampered the visitors when they lost two wickets with the score on 54.
Due to rain interruption, the match was reduced to 43 overs-a-side. West Indies recovered thanks to an 81 run partnership between Carl Hooper and Roger Harper and posted a reasonable total of 172. Hooper played a magnificent and much-needed innings of 93* off just 96 balls.
Wes Indies decimated the Aussie batting with some brutal bowling by Gibson and Walsh, reducing them to 38-6. However, Ian Healy gave Australians some hope by adding 36 runs with Michael Bevan before the former fell leaving Australia 74-7. Then in came Reiffel, who had taken 4 wickets while bowling, to join Bevan. Bevan was his usual self – scoring a few runs here and there while putting the bad balls away for boundaries.
Reiffel scored a crucial 34 but when he well Australia were 16 short of the target. Shane Warne fell cheaply for 6 and last man Glenn McGrath joined Bevan at the crease. However Bevan maintained his cool and lofted the last ball of the match for a boundary handing the Aussies a very unlikely victory.
#5 Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 15 October, 1999, Sharjah
Pakistan faced Sri Lanka in the 3rd match at the Coca Cola Cup at Sharjah. Some disciplined bowling by the Sri Lankan bowlers had restricted Pakistan to just 196.
In reply, Sri Lanka had crossed 150 for the loss of 1 wicket in 35 overs. They lost their second wicket at 157 and were 173-2 in 40 overs. They required 23 runs from the last ten overs with eight wickets in hand.
Then, Shoaib Malik got the set Russel Arnlod out for 61 and Wasim Akram got the wickets of Jayasurya and De Silva. Sri Lanka were reduced to 177-5 in 43.2 overs but were still in the driving seat.
Then came the turn-around performed by Razzaq. Sri Lanka needed 11 off 26 balls to win when he sent two players to the pavilion. The target further dwindled down to 3 to win from 13 balls with 3 wickets in hand. Razzaq again came into action and clean bowled Vaas. The next over cost two runs and Muralitharan was run out. Sri Lanka required one off the final over. Razzaq bowled LC Silva off the very first ball, thus resulting into one of the most dramatic finishes ever in the history of ODI’s.
#4 Australia vs New Zealand, Jan 29, 2002 at Melbourne
Australia came up against New Zealand in the 10th match of VB Series wherein they had to chase down a target of 246 in 50 overs. Australia collapsed after a steady start and were 53-4 in the 15th over when Michael Bevan came into the crease. The hosts lost two more wickets by the 22nd over with the score at 82 when Shane Warne joined Bevan.
Bevan stayed true to his reputation as one of the best finishers in ODI cricket and put on a 91 run partnership off just 61 balls with Warne. When the leg-spinner fell Australia were 143-7 in 36.4 overs and Lee joined Bevan out in the middle. With another 100 runs required in 13 overs and just three wickets in hand, the Aussies were clearly second favourites.
However, with an 81 run partnership off 65 balls with Brett Lee and a further 24 runs with Bichel, Michael Bevan saw his team home with 3 balls to spare. For his 102 off 95 balls, he was awarded the Man of the Match award. The best part of his innings was that only 25 % of his runs came off boundaries, and still his strike rate was 107.
#3 Pakistan vs South Africa, 31 October 2010, Abu Dhabi
You never know what to expect from Pakistan when it comes to international cricket. Often they have lost matches from winning positions and won when no one expected them to. One instance of the latter happened at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. South Africa batting first posted a very respectable total of 286 in 50 overs, thanks to a very solid century by Collin Ingram.
Pakistan lost its first wicket at 8 when Asad Shafiq got out after scoring 1 run and wickets kept tumbling down against the South African attack. They had already lost 4 wickets for 70 runs by the end of the 19th over. Then came in Shahid Afridi who scored in his usual aggressive style – a hurried 49 off 40 balls and partnering with Fawad Alam took the score to 136 in the 30th over. When he fell, hopes of a win were almost gone with 150 required from the last twenty overs.
Alam was joined by Abdul Razzaq, who scored 5 off 9 balls before hitting a straight six off Peterson in the 34th over. However, it was not going to be enough as the required run rate was going beyond eight and a half runs per over. Razzaq then launched into an onslaught, deciding to take on the bowlers. Requiring 109 off 73, Razzaq went for a big shot over cover and the ball just cleared Amla on the boundary by a few feet. 103 off last 12 overs.
Tsotsobe was hammered for six over midwicket in the next over and Botha for another through square leg in the over after that one. Alam was playing a very sensible and supportive knock at the other end and Pakistan required 76 off the last 9 overs.
However Fawad fell in the next over and in the final six overs, Pakistan required 59 runs, with Razzaq completing his half-century off the last ball of the 44th over. The very next ball, Zulqarnain Haider was run out. Things were looking bleak for Pakistan as they required 53 off the final 4 overs. This is where the real massacre started. Razzaq smashed Langeveldt for three sixes in the next over before Wahab Riaz got run out. The target now stood at 33 off 3 overs.
With Saeed Ajmal also getting run out, Pakistan required 30 off 15 balls and 25 off 2 overs with the last pair at the crease. A six, four and a single in next over took the equation down to 14 off the last over with Razzaq facing Albie Morkel. He smashed the 2nd ball to the stands over long on and the 3rd ball got the same treatment - another six in the same region. It was his 10th six of the innings and brought up his century. A four through the covers of the penultimate ball took Pakistan to an unbelievable victory and expectedly Razzaq was declared the Man of the Match.
#2 Australia vs England, 17 Jan 2014, Brisbane
#1 Austalia vs Sri Lanka, Nov 3, 2010 at the MCG
Australia batting first in the first ODI of the series put up a target of 240 runs for Sri Lanka to chase down. Mike Hussey played an unbeaten innings of 71 runs while Perera took 5 wickets for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka lost both their openers within the first six overs with the score at 19. However, Sangakkara and Mahela added 54 runs for the 3rd wicket taking the visitors to a reasonable score of 73 for 2 wickets in 15 overs. Sri Lanka required another 167 off the last 35 overs with 8 wickets in hand. The match seemed heavily in favor of Sri Lanka at this stage with two of their stalwarts standing at the crease. Things however changed in the next 62 balls. Sri Lanka collapsed in dramatic fashion thanks to a brilliant spell by Xavier Doherty (4-15 in 5.2 overs) and lost 6 wickets for just 34 runs. The Sri Lankan scoreboard now read 107-8 in 25.2 overs. A further 133 runs were required off 24.4 overs with just two wickets in hand. The rest of the match just seemed a formality then.
In came Malinga to join Angelo Mathews in the middle, and he showed his intent on the fourth ball he faced. He cleared his front leg and smashed Doherty for a four between the bowler and mid-on. In the left armer’s next over, he struck two more fours in similar fashion. Peter Siddle was brought into the attack, but he was also cut away for a four by Malinga.
To cut the long story short, 5th ball of the 34th over, Malinga heaves on to Long On for a big six that goes 15 rows back in the stands. Three overs later, on first ball of 37th over, Malinga moves back on Hasting’s ball, showing all his three stumps, and lofts a length ball straight over bowler’s head for another six.
Finally Sri Lanka required one run to win from 39 balls when Malinga attempts a quick single upon a defensive shot. Direct hit from Smith sends Malinga back to Pavilion. Malinga scored 56 off 48 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Next two balls are dot balls and Watson is to bowl the next over to Muralitharan. Murali flicks the second ball down to fine leg for a four and hands his team a famous victory. Mathews for his 77 not out is awarded man of the match title.
Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news
