Pakistan vs India – Austral-Asia Cup Final at Sharjah on 18th of April 1986:
To explain a bit about Austral-Asia Cup, it was the 50-over based tournament which had witnessed the amalgamation of the tournament as the name of Austral-Asia Cup.
Back in 1986, during the final of its maiden edition, India posted 245 on the board with the help of half-centuries each from Kris Srikkanth, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar.
In response, Pakistan faltered early on when they were 61 for three. However, legendary batsman Javed Miandad had slammed a fine which also saw Saleem Malik playing a crucial part for taking Pakistan closer to India’s target.
Following Abdul Qadir’s contributions, Team India bowlers picked wickets to seen Pakistan at 241 for nine. With Miandad ending up scoring 114-ball 116.
Interestingly, Pakistan required six off the last ball, but a low toss from Chetan Sharma saw Miandad dispatching the ball over mid-wicket boundary to record an enthralling win against India.
India vs England NatWest Series Final at Lord’s in 2003:
The 2002 NatWest Series is still afresh in the cricketing aficionados. The tri-nation series involved Sri Lanka and hosts England.
Before the finale on 13th of July 2002, all three teams had featured in six games each before England made it to the final with the Men in Blue led by Sourav Ganguly.
Batting first England had posted 325 on the board following a fine ton from Marcus Trescothick alongside Nasser Hussain. In response, India had a good start before being reduced to 146 for five.
Following Ganguly’s fine half-century, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif had led to India’s rescue as the dup stitched 121-run partnership for the sixth wickets. When India required 50-ball 59, Yuvraj who was already in the dressing room, saw Kaif stitching a 47-run partnership with Harbhajan Singh.
However, India required just two off last over after Kaif scored nine runs in the 49th over. However, Zaheer Khan hit the winning while facing third delivery of the final over to hand India an iconic win.
Thus, Ganguly had celebrated wildly by taking off his shot at Lord’s balcony.