Pakistan toured Ireland in the early months of 2013 for much-needed practice before the ICC Champions Trophy which was to be held in England. But much to the surprise of many, Ireland proved to be a stiff opposition for the Pakistan. Pakistan batted first and registered 266/5 in a 47 over rain reduced match, thanks to an impressive century from Hafeez. But Ireland were in no mood to let go of the match as they marched to 227/4 with 49 needed of last 6 overs. But the script wasn’t meant to have a normal ending. With 15 needed of last over and Ajmal to bowl, all was lost for Ireland. But Kevin O’Brien wasn’t going to give up easily even after scoring just 2 runs in first 3 balls. The 4th ball was hit for a six and the next one for a two. With 5 required of the final ball, he flicked the ball to backward square boundary and tied the match.
9) South Africa vs West Indies, Champions Trophy 2013, Group Stage
The next match on the list is the Champions Trophy match between South Africa and West Indies in the following summer. West Indies required to win the match in order to qualify for the semis and South Africa have to avoid loss to qualify. Rain played a crucial part in the match as it allowed only 31 overs in the South African innings in which they managed 230/6. In reply, West Indies the T20 champions played sensibly and were on course of victory even if it rained mid way through the innings. By the end of the 26th over their score was 190/5 and the par score was 186 and with rain looming all seemed set for West Indies to enter the semis. But Pollard, who until then played comfortably, had a sudden brain freeze and slogged a delivery to gift his wicket. The equation changed immediately and the par score was raised to 190 and with no further play possible, West Indies were eliminated. This match was an irony considering the previous exits of South Africa in the World Cups. 1992: South Africa lost to rain. 1996: They lost to West Indies. 1999: They lost to a tie. 2003: They lost to a tie on D/L. They beat all the previous results in one match.
8) Ireland vs Zimbabwe, World Cup 2007, Group Stage
The next match on our list is considered one of the greatest matches in World Cup history and is played between the minnows Zimbabwe and Ireland. The result of the match had further effect as it gave the confidence to Ireland to beat Pakistan and reach the knock out stage. Ireland batted first and on the back of an excellent century from Jeremy Bray (which is his only international century) the scored 221/9. Zimbabwe were cruising at 92/1 but within 45 mins, they were teetering at 133/5. But due to the sloppy fielding from the Irish, they steadied the ship and moved to 203/5 with just 19 needed in 39 balls. But then all Hell broke loose. Taylor, who until then was the calming presence, was out unfortunately as the shot deflected from the bowlers had and hit the non-striker end wickets and was run out. The Irish bowlers tightened the screws and brought down the target to 9 runs from 6 balls with just one wicket remaining. Matsikenyeri( 73* of 76) did not give up and brought the target to 1 run from the last ball. He missed the ball but the keeper did not miss the stumps and all of Ireland erupted with joy and delight.
7) Australia vs England, Natwest Series 2005, Final
Ashes 2005 is probably the greatest test series of all time and the main reason it is held at such high stature is due to fact that it was fought between to equal teams. But even before the series began, there were signs that it would be a great series and one such sign was the Natwest series final which ended in a tie. Australia, the then No 1 ODI team struggled on their way to 196 as they batted first on a green Lord’s surface. But once they started bowling, they showed the English why they are the No 1 team in the world and dragged them to 33/5 in less than 10 overs. But Collingwood and G Jones were in no mood to give up this time around and added 116 runs for the 6th wicket. But Collingwood was run out and soon both the Jones joined him in the pavilion. With 28 required from the last 3 overs and just 2 wickets remaining, the odds were surely in the favour of the Aussies. But Giles and Gough showed tenacity and were aided by the ill discipline of the Australian bowlers and brought down the target to 10 from the last over. The extras continued even in the last over as McGrath overstepped for the first ball. But Gough was run out of the 5th ball and 3 runs were required for the last ball. Giles tried to tuck the bowl down the leg side but it hit his pad and somehow managed to milk 2 leg byes from the final bowl as England celebrated the result.
6) India vs New Zealand, India tour of New Zealand 2014, 4th ODI
No 6 on the list is the most recent of the 32 tied matches in ODI history. India after struggling in the overseas for the past 3 years has finally found some confidence after their tour of South Africa and wanted to continue their rich form even in New Zealand. But the Kiwis, made life difficult for the visitors as they heaped 2 defeats in their first 2 ODIs. With a daunting total of 314, it seemed as if the series was over and India were ready to give up. With a score of 184/6 and all the recognised batsmen out, New Zealand hand one hand on the trophy already. But Indian spinners Ashwin and Jadeja, who till then struggled with bat in the series provided the ray of hope for the Indian team. Both of them took advantage of the smaller boundaries and scored freely around the park. But once Ashwin was out, the tail did not show the resolve and were down to 286/9 with 29 needed of 12 balls and Jadeja at the crease. But ‘Sir’ Jadeja took NZ bowlers to cleaners and scored 17 in the last over with 6 of the 5th ball and 4s of the 1st and the 4th ball. With 2 needed of the last ball to complete a famous victory, Jadeja could only squeeze a single and the match was tied and the series was kept alive only for India to stumble again 2 days later and lose the series.
5) England vs New Zealand,England tour of New Zealand 2008, 4th ODI
McLean Park (Napier), England and New Zealand have a unique relationship. When the teams met in 1997 on the same ground, it produced a tie and again when they met in 2008 it produced another tie. England batted first and scored an incredible 340 on a flat pitch with short boundaries. But when it was their turn to bowl, they were battered the same way and even more by the NZ batsmen. Jamie How set up and excellent chase for the hosts and NZ were cruising to victory and when Styris got out in the 44th over, the scoreboard read 301/3 with just 40 needed of 39 balls. But with the fall of wicket, England rose from the dead and chipped away at the NZ wickets. But How kept the scoreboard ticking and with the help of their captain, Vettori he brought down the target to 7 in the last over. But then began the real problem for Collingwood as he used up all his main bowlers and was left with just the part-timers. Luke Wright, who did not bowl in the match was given the ball. This was just his 3rd over in his 4 match ODI career. But he delivered in style as he repeatedly hit the block hole and gave just singles and ran out How in the pen ultimate ball. With 2 needed of the last ball, he fired another yorker and somehow Vettori manged to pull of a single with Mills diving full length to complete the single.
4) England vs South Africa, England tour of South Africa 2005, 2nd ODI
8 needed of the final over and the bowlers who is asked to bowl till then was carted around. The first ball is a waist-high full toss no ball and dispatched to the boundary. The confidence of the bowlers is shattered to bits and just 3 runs needed in the last 5 balls with 2 batsmen at the crease. Any team in the world would comfortably win from this position but the perennial chokers South Africa could barely mange a tie.England amassed 270 on the back of a Pietersen’s maiden century. South Africa were in pursuit of the target and with some big hitting from Kemp, brought down the run rate and all they had to do was to seal the victory. With 8 needed of the last over, the ball was given to Kabir Ali, who till then had a match to forget. It seemed that England had lost hope of the victory and were in no mood for a fight and it was further confirmed after the first ball was a no ball 4. The next ball was a full toss which Boucher hit straight to the deep mid wicket fielder. The next 2 balls were fast and full and Pollock could only scamper for a single of the 3rd ball. The new batsmen Prince failed to hold his nerve and was run out the next ball. Pollock managed a single the next ball and tied the scores. With just 1 needed of the last ball, Hall was unable to connect with the ball and was stumped by the keeper who was standing up and tied the match.
3) India vs England, World Cup 2011, Group Stage
(Ind 338 all out, 49.5 overs ; Eng 338/8, 50 overs) :
No 3 on the list is another high scoring thriller involving India and England. With the World Cup being hosted by India, high expectations were a norm and especially after the first match trashing of Bangladesh, the Indian fans expected another delight and were treated to one. Sachin’s masterful century, aided by middle order’s quick runs ensured that India would not lose the match, at least not easily. But all these thoughts were put to test by the English Captain Andrew Strauss as he scored a chanceless 158 against a sub par Indian bowling. He scored runs with minimum fuss and soon the stadium went silent and all the joy was halted. It seemed as if the Indian bowling has yet again failed to defend a tall target. But when all seemed lost, the bowling spearhead Zaheer stood up and removed the well set Bell and Strauss in consecutive deliveries. In his next over, he dismissed Collingwood and turned the match on its head. Soon the tail was exposed to a rejuvenated bowling and had to score 42 in just 4 overs. But they chipped away at the remaining runs and 14 were needed of the last over. Ahmed Shahzad came out as the unlikely hero as he carted a six over the sight screen and with 2 needed of the last ball, Swann scampered for a single and tied the match.
2) South Africa vs Sri Lanka, World Cup 2003, Group Stage
Sydney 1992, Edgbaston 1999, Durban 2003 ; South Africa have a knack of exiting the World Cups in the most bizarre ways possible. World Cup 2003 was supposed to be South Africa’s best cricketing moment and winning the World Cup on the home soil was something the players would have dreamt many times. Some lacklustre performances in the League Stages meant that they had to win their last league match against Sri Lanka if they have to qualify for the Super Six stage. Sri Lanka struggled initially but a superlative century from Atapattu meant that the hosts were handed a daunting task of chasing 269 with the weather forecast threatening a downpour. But Gibbs along with Smith and Boucher ensured that the run rate was never out of hand. After he was dismissed, Boucher continued his good work as South Africa inched closer to the target. With the match nearing its end, the rain threat increased and soon D/L calculations were made and the par scores were informed after every over. Boucher was informed that 229 at the end of 45 overs was the par score and he duly made sure that the target was achieved with one ball to spare and defended the last ball towards mid wicket. As predicted the rain made its entry and Boucher along with Klusener returned to the pavilion smiling. But later they came to know that 230 was the par score and they tied the game. With no further play possible, the match ended as a tie and South Africa were eliminated from the World Cup.
1) Australia vs South Africa, World Cup 1999, Semi Finals
(Aus 213 all out, 49.2 overs ; SA 213 all out, 49.4 overs) :
The NO 1 on our list is not only the best tied match of all time, but is also one of the greatest ODI match of all time and the greatest match in the World Cup. The semi final match between South Africa and Australia was studded with magnificent performances. First the batsmen of the tournament, Mark Waugh was out in the first over then the momentum shifted six times in Australia’s innings alone – 3/1 to 54/1 to 68/4 to 158/4 to 158/6 to 207/6 to a modest and barely defendable 213 all out. The reply fittingly was the same as South Africa went from – 48/0 to 61/4 to 145/4 to 198/9. Lance Klusener, the man of the tournament was left alone with no 11 Donald at the crease. With 30 runs needed of the last 4 overs and 1 wicket left, Klusener defied the Aussie bowlers and clubbed boundaries. He swung his bat so powerfully at a ball in the 49th over that the wide mid-on fielder, Paul Reiffel dropped and parried it for a 6. Then came the last over, which in fact might be the most dramatic over in all of cricket’s history. With 9 runs needed and Klusener at the crease, the ball was handed to Fleming and he came with a worked out idea to bowl wide yorkers to negate Kluseners leg side strength. But he had no trouble blasting the first 2 balls for cover boundary and wide mid off. The next ball slowly squirted to Lehmann and Donald who backed up too much, was almost run out had the ball hit the stumps. But by then the game was supposedly lost for Australia and their only hope left was Klusener to have a Brain-freeze and he had one the next ball itself. The next ball was a perfect yorker and Klusener mis-hit to the mid off and immediately took off. But poor Donald after the previous delivery mishap went back to his crease as the ball crossed the stumps and then took off and was too late to reach the striker’s end where Gilchrist received the ball and already had knocked out the stumps. Though the match ended in a tie, Australia progressed on account of a superior run rate in the Super Six stage.
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