On Wednesday, we had the best nail-biting finish of the T20 World Cup so far. India faced Bangladesh in a must-win game.. After Pakistan’s comfortable victory over Bangladesh and then Pakistan’s defeat against India, Bangladesh were considered a weaker opponent given the home ground advantage of India and absence of two main bowlers from the Bangladesh team in Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmad.
The match apart from being a do-or-die battle for India garnered much attraction for Indian fans due to the off-field battle going on social media between fans of the two countries. The Dhoni-Taskin poster and various Mauka-Mauka ads made by amateurs added fuel to the fire. The suspension of Taskin and Sunny was also termed as a conspiracy by ICC apparently dominated by Indian lobby
So, a charged up and aggressive display was expected from both sides in this game, full of emotions and expressions. The players did not the disappoint either. The match started with a wonderful bowling display by the Bangladeshi team.
India posted a total of 146-7 on the board. In reply, Bangladesh seemed in charge of the chase for the most part of their innings. If I would put that in number, it comes to around 90 %. In fact, at one time Bangladesh required 60 from 54 balls with 6 wickets in hand.
With 11 required from the last over, Mushfiqur Raheem scored two consecutive boundaries and Bangladesh needed 2 from 3 balls with 4 wickets in hand. In every possible scenario, it was Bangladesh, who would win, except one; and which was if Bangladesh lost three wickets of the last three balls of the game.
Unfortunately for Bangladeshi fans, the exception happened and Bangladesh lost the game- a loss they would not be able to forget over decades to come. India, if they go on to win the Cup, would consider these three balls from Pandya to be the real reason for lifting the trophy.
The drama ended in the best befitting manner it could have; MS Dhoni running all the way to stop Bangladeshi batsmen completing a bye and thereby winning the game. Dhoni effected the run-out after Hardik Pandya executed a delivery as planned by the team. India won the game by 1 run and has to win the next game against Australia to reach the semi-finals.
This is not the first time India have won an International game by 1 run margin. Previously, India have done it on 5 instances (1 T20I, 4 ODIs). 3 out of these 5 instances have come against South Africa. We are here to take a look at all those five instances starting with T20.
India vs South Africa at Colombo, 2 October 2012
Two T20Is which India won by 1 run had a lot of similarities. India vs Bangladesh, which was played yesterday was the 25th game of this World T20, and ended in a 1 run victory for India. Interestingly, the other T20 which was won by India by 1 run was also in a World T20 game in 2012.
It was the 24th game of that tournament and India were playing against South Africa. It was India who lost the toss and were sent into bat first on both occasions. Bangladesh had very bleak chances of making to the semi-finals while in that match, South Africa had already been eliminated.
India were playing their do-or-die game against Bangladesh and they were doing a similar thing against South Africa. They had to beat South Africa by a margin of 30 or more runs to get to the semi-finals; otherwise Pakistan would have qualified. However, after that game, India were out of the world-cup while in this game, they are still in the race.
Interestingly, Suresh Raina was the top scorer for India in that game with 45 runs, and he was the top-scorer in this game as well with 30 runs. MS Dhoni played 13 balls in that game, 12 in this one and remained not out on both occasions. India’s 5th wicket fell on the score of 112 runs in both games. The chasing team in both games lost their 9th wicket at 145 runs, while they were 6 down on 126 and 127 respectively. The chasing team on both occasions required 27 to win from last three overs with exactly 5 wickets in hand.
India were put into bat and they lost three early wickets in the powerplay and could make only 36 runs. However, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma gave India somewhat stability before Yuvraj was dismissed for 21 when India had made 68 in 10 overs. Suresh Raina joined Rohit Sharma and the two put on a 44 run partnership before Sharma was trapped leg before by Peterson for 25. Dhoni struck a quick fire 23 from 13 balls and Raina made 45 before he was run-out on the last ball of the innings. India made 152-6 in 20 overs.
South Africa’s reply was full of drama. They lost Amla on the 2nd ball of the match, and Kallis with only 16 runs on the board in the 4th over. In the 7th over, de Villiers was dismissed by Yuvraj Singh, when South Africa were at 46. In came Faf du Plessis, who would go on to smash India’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals. However, Yuvraj dismissed du Plessis in the 13th over of the innings and South Africa were reduced to 95-4.
Faf du Plessis made 65 from 38 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. South Africa lost wickets after regular intervals and required 14 to win from the last over with 2 wickets in hand. Balaji was smashed for a six of the first ball of the over, and Balaji removed him on the next delivery. It was now his brother, Morne Morkel on strike who played a dot on next ball.
4th ball of the over was dispatched by Morne Morkel for a six over square leg for a mighty six and South Africa only needed 2 from 2 balls. Balaji bowled a full delivery on the stumps and Morkel played a big heave but missed it completely. The ball crashed into the stumps helping India win by 1 run. Yuvraj Singh was awarded Man of the Match for his 2 wickets and 21 runs.
South Africa v India at Johannesburg, 15 January 2011
It was the 2nd ODI of India’s tour of South Africa. India won the toss and decided to bat first. MS Dhoni was the captain of the Indian side while the South African side was led by Graeme Smith. South Africa were 1-0 in the series having won the first game. India started slowly and lost the wicket of Murali Vijay early in the game with only 21 on board in the 8th over.
Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar were involved in a 42 run partnership before both were dismissed within a gap of only four runs. Then, it was MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who added 83 runs, before India lost Yuvraj Singh when they were on 150 in 37th over. With 13 overs to go, India were eyeing a 250+ target, but what ensued after Yuvraj Singh’s dismissal was a collapse no one expected. India could make only 190 runs in 47.2 overs with Lonwabo Tsotsobe picking up 4 wickets for just 22 runs.
In reply, once again it was Amla who was dismissed early. Ingram and de Villiers fell after starts and Duminy’s wicket meant the Proteas had lost four wickets for 120 runs in the 25th over. South Africa were in full control having made 152-5 in 32 over and Smith was still playing on 77 with David Miller on the other end. However, the first ball of the 33rd over saw Smith getting bowled by Munaf Patel.
It was Miller who followed his captain an over later, only to be followed by Botha two overs later. South Africa had gone down to 163-7 in 36th over. After another three overs, Steyn was run-out and South Africa still required 14 to win. An 11-run partnership between Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell brought South Africa within 3 runs of victory.
That is where Munaf Patel removed Morne Morkel. In came the last man, Tsotsobe, who got a single of the second ball he faced. It was now Wayne Parnell who needed 1 run to tie the scores. Parnell played a shot on the last ball of the 43rd over which went straight to Yuvraj Singh, who took a neat catch. India won the game by 1 run. Munaf Patel for his brilliant bowling under pressure (4-29) was adjudged the Man of the Match.
India vs South Africa at Jaipur, 21 February 2010
In 2010 South Africa toured India and played the first ODI at Jaipur. Jacques Kallis was the skipper of South Africa, and having won the toss, decided to field first. India lost Tendulkar early but it was the partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Virender Sehwag which laid down a solid foundation. India were 88-1 in 14 overs. However, after that india lost three wickets for 50 runs only to be reduced to 138-4 in the 24th over.
India had played with 8 batsmen in that game with Jadeja coming in at number 8. Suresh Raina made 58 while all other batsmen got off to starts but perished soon after helping India post a very defendable total of 298.
In reply, Bosman and Gibbs started aggressively and put on 50 in just 47 balls. However, Bosman and Gibbs fell in quick succession which left South Africa struggling at 64-2 in 11.2 overs. The captain Jacques Kallis stood firm on one end of the wicket while batsmen kept losing the wickets on the other. South Africa reached their 200 runs in 39.4 overs having lost 7 wickets. Kallis was still playing on one end with Wayne Parnell on the other.
However, required rate rose to 10, requiring both batsman to take risks. Trying to score quickly Kallis lost his wicket to Sreesanth and South Africa had no hopes left when they were 225-8 in 43rd over. But, with some luck and powerful hitting from Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn, the Proteas were left requiring 40 from 3 overs.
With 10 needed from the last over, Praveen Kumar removed Dale Steyn of the second ball and Kallis’ side required 9 from 4. Steyn made 35 from 19 balls. 7 were required from the last 2 balls when Langveldt swivelled and hit the ball to fine leg where Tendulkar made a brilliant effort to prevent a boundary, but the third umpire reviewed the incident and after many replays deemed that the master blaster had successfully saved the boundary.
Praveen Kumar then bowled a wide, leaving three required of the last ball. On the last ball, Parnell made room and knocked the ball to third man of the toe end of the bat from where Sreesanth fired a wide throw, but Dhoni stretched and broke the stumps. Parnell wanted a second and the decision went to third umpire, but he was a long way from the crease and was declared out. Jadeja was adjudged the man of the match for his 22 runs and 2 wickets.
Sri Lanka v India at Colombo, 25 July 1993
It was India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 1993 and the captains were Mohammad Azharuddin and Arjuna Ranatunga. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field first. India courtesy of 39 runs from Prabhakar and exactly 39 runs from the other opener, Navjot Singh Sidhu, laid a solid foundation. Azharuddin played a fantastic knock scoring 53 of 57 deliveries. With the help of 21 from Tendulkar and 27 from Kapil Dev, India reached a total of 212 which was very competitive in those days.
Sri Lankan openers put 46 runs on the board before they were both dismissed. However, opener Hathurusingha and middle-order batsman Arvinda de Silva put on a 115 run partnership to put Sri Lanka in the driving seat. After this partnership was broken, no batsman reached double figures except for the young Sanath Jayasuriya who made 17. Sri Lanka in the end required 6 to win with at last two overs to go and three wickets in hand.
A run out and a wicket to Javagal Srinath meant that Sri Lanka required two of the last over with one wicket in hand. Prabhakar who opened for India, closed for India as well. He bowled Wickramasinghe on the second ball and India won the game by 1 run. Azharuddin was declared man of the match for his half-century.
New Zealand v India at Wellington, 6 March 1990
It was the 4th game of Rothmans Triangular Series in which New Zealand and India faced each other at Wellington. Azharuddin and late Martin Crowe were the captains in that match. India won the toss and chose to bat. Indian opener Woorkeri Raman was dismissed for a duck. Prabhakar and Manjrekar scored 36 each. Sachin Tendulkar came at number 6 and also made 36, while Kapil Dev added 46 runs.
India did not have any major partnership except for the 58 for 2nd wicket and made 221 runs in 48.2 overs. Danny Morison, now renowned for his commentary skills, got 3 wickets in that game. In the 2nd innings, Martin Crowe was removed for 18 by Kapil Dev and Andrew Jones was run out for only 9. New Zealand were in deep trouble at 68-3 when they lost Jeff Crowe.
An 80 run partnership between Greatbatch and Rutherford brought New Zealand in control of the chase. The two made 53 and 44 respectively. Sir Richard Hadlee made a handy contribution of 46 runs and New Zealand were cruising to victory when they were at 210-6. However, two wickets fell on 210 and 211 and New Zealand were 8 down with 11 to win from last over.
Much like the last game where Mushfiqur Raheem hit two fours, Hadlee hit 4, 2, 2 and New Zealand needed 3 from 3 balls with 2 wickets in hand. But Snedden was run out of the fourth ball, which produced a single. Kapil Dev then bowled the perfect yorker as Hadlee tried to hit the winning runs and was bowled. India completed their first one-run victory in an international game. Kapil Dev for his all-round performance was given the man of the match award.
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