One Day Cricket was introduced to increase the pace of the game, and to increase the entertainment portion in the match. There have been many incidents, where the match has went down to the wire and the crowd was greeted with last ball finish.
Former India captain MS Dhoni is known to take the match to the last stages more often than not. Though, many including few of his teammates did not like this approach of Dhoni but the kind of confidence he has is a delight to watch.
When cricket fans talk about last ball finishes, the most unforgettable moment that flashes back to our memory is the ODI between India and Pakistan. Where Pakistan’s legendary batsman, Javed Miandad smashed the last ball for a huge six to win the game when the team needed six runs for a victory on the last ball of the innings.
Chetan Sharma is the one who registered first hat-trick for India but yet he is still more remembered for that six against Pakistan in the Sharjah Cup Final in 1986.
Last ball finishes often attract more attention as compared to the high-scoring games, where a team just goes on and smashes their opponent out of the match.
Here we will talk about those few instances when a match went down to the wire, and the crowd saw a nail-biting event.
A notable mention that did not manage a place on our list:
West Indies vs. South Africa, 3rd ODI, 2005:
Chasing a target of 285, you do not often lose a game when a player from your team scores 132 runs. But West Indies managed to lose a match like that, with four runs needed off the last over and Dwayne Bravo at the crease, the Windies went on to lose the game, as Charl Langeveldt took a hat-trick and won the game for the Proteas.
Here are five such instances when the crowd was greeted with a nail-biting finish of the last ball of the game: