Most thrilling six finishes in crunch limited-overs matches

Dinesh Karthik became a hero overnight with a stunning innings under pressure in the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh at Colombo. He came to the crease with 34 to win off 12 balls and found himself on strike straightaway. The six balls of the nineteenth over then read: 6, 4, 6, 0, 2, 4. Eventually, India required 5 to win from 1 ball. Karthik, on strike, obliged and sent the ball sailing over the extra cover boundary; India won the trophy and the wicketkeeper-batsman ended on a miraculous 29* off 8 balls.

Sportskeeda looks back on nail-biting last-over finishes in crunch games – all of them either tournament finals or semi-finals – where a six sealed the deal for the chasing side, with the match hanging in the balance throughout the last over.

#5 Carlos Brathwaite - West Indies vs England: T20 World Cup 2016 Final, Kolkata

Brief Scores: West Indies 161/6 in 19.4 overs (Root 54; Brathwaite 3/23, Bravo 3/37) beat England 155/9 in 20 overs (Samuels 85*, Brathwaite 34*; Willey 3/20) by 4 wickets

Either side would become the first to win the World T20 twice, as three of England's top four were removed for single-digit scores before a partnership of 61 between Joe Root and Jos Buttler steadied their ship. Once Carlos Brathwaite got Buttler, England found it difficult to accumulate runs on a slow pitch. Root top-scored with 54 and lower-order contributions took them to 155/9 after three wickets each from Brathwaite and Dwayne Bravo checked their flow.

The story in the chase was similar: West Indies were 11/3 and a 75-run partnership between Marlon Samuels and Bravo kept them alive. David Willey made it 107/6, and West Indies' only hope was Samuels when it was down to 31 off 13. That became 19 off 6, but Brathwaite had strike instead.

Ben Stokes had enough to defend, but history was rewritten by Brathwaite inside only four deliveries – 6, 6, 6, 6 – to leave Stokes ashamed and bring home the T20 crown yet again. Those extraordinary hits proved enough for the world to forget that Samuels, at the other end, had hammered 85* for a second half-century in as many T20 World Cup finals.

#4 Grant Elliott - New Zealand vs South Africa: ODI World Cup 2015 Semi-Final, Auckland

Grant Elliott's 84* took New Zealand to their first World Cup final in 2015

Brief Scores: New Zealand 299/6 in 42.5 overs (Elliott 84*, McCullum 59; Morkel 3/59) beat South Africa 281/5 in 43 overs (du Plessis 82, de Villiers 65*; Anderson 3/72) by 4 wickets by D/L method

[Match reduced to 43 overs a side by rain with New Zealand's revised target set as 298]

A place in the World Cup final was at stake with neither side having made it their earlier. Yet again, with South Africa involved in a World Cup encounter, rain added drama, reducing the match to 43 overs after they were 216/3 in 38. Faf du Plessis' wicket for 82 then brought David Miller to the crease, who bludgeoned 49 from 18 balls. Eventually, they ended on 281/5 and New Zealand's revised target became 298.

Brendon McCullum came out firing to blast 59 off 26 balls, but calmness was restored with wickets in the middle overs. A quick stand of 103 between Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson brought New Zealand back; and South Africa missed run outs and dropped Elliott to complicate matters, with the target down to 10 off 4. Elliott had to hit 5 from the remaining 2 and Dale Steyn bowled a length ball which landed in the stands.

Elliott got 84*, but the South Africa-born consoling a broken Steyn in the middle of the pitch won more hearts than his hit, though AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel would be later seen breaking down on the field.

#3 MS Dhoni - India vs Sri Lanka: West Indies Tri-Nation series Final 2013, Port-of-Spain

MS Dhoni hit 6, 4 and 6 in the last over to finish off yet another tense run chase for India against Sri Lanka

Brief Scores: India 203/9 in 49.4 overs (Rohit 58, Dhoni 45*; Herath 4/20) beat Sri Lanka 201 in 48.5 overs (Sangakkara 71, Thirimanne 46; Jadeja 4/23) by 1 wicket

Hosts West Indies could not make it to the final of the tri-series also involving India and Sri Lanka, with the decider going down to the wire. A stand of 121 between Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne took Sri Lanka to 171/2, but Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma combined to strike one after the other, with Thirimanne's wicket for 46 starting a collapse. Sangakkara made 71 and Sri Lanka folded up for 201 after Jadeja's 4/23.

During the chase, India themselves fell apart after Rohit Sharma's half-century. Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina gave away starts, and India stared at defeat when a comfortable 139/3 became 182/9 with Rangana Herath being the wrecker-in-chief. Amidst all this, captain MS Dhoni, returning to the side after an injury in the series opener, was firm at one end. India needed 20 from 22 with one wicket remaining, which soon became 15 from 6.

Dhoni missed the first ball but sent the others for 6, 4 and 6 to astonish Sri Lankan fans and finish off yet another tense chase for India, remaining unbeaten on 45.

#2 Mike Hussey - Australia vs Pakistan: T20 World Cup Semi-Final 2010, Gros Islet

Mike Hussey smashed 60* off 24 balls and booked Australia's place in the final of the T20 World Cup

Brief Scores: Australia 197/7 in 19.5 overs (M Hussey 60*, White 42; Amir 3/35) beat Pakistan 191/6 in 20 overs (U Akmal 56*, K Akmal 50; Smith 1/23) by 3 wickets

Mike Hussey lit up the semi-final of the ICC World T20 in 2010 by hammering boundaries at will in the last over of Australia's run chase. Pakistan raked up 191/6, with the Akmal brothers – Kamran and Umar – hitting 50 and 56*, respectively. Umar hit 2 fours and 4 sixes in 35 balls, while Shaun Tait, who conceded only 25 in 4 overs, applied the brakes for Australia, who were reduced to 62/4 in the chase, with three batsmen wasting starts and David Warner falling for a duck.

David Hussey and Cameron White staged a brief recovery, but both fell soon with White making 43. Mike Hussey then lost Steven Smith, and the score stood at 144/7 with 48 to win from 17 balls. 14 came off the eighteenth over while 16 were hit in the next. That left Mitchell Johnson on strike with 18 to get from 6.

Thankfully for Australia, a single came off the first ball; carnage began after that with 6, 6, 4 and 6 off Hussey's bat. Australia hunted down the target successfully and he finished on 60* off 24 balls.

#1 Javed Miandad - Pakistan vs India: Austral-Asia Cup Final 1986, Sharjah

Javed Miandad smashed 116*, hitting the winning six off Chetan Sharma at Sharjah in 1986

Brief Scores: Pakistan 248/9 in 50 overs (Miandad 116*, Mohsin 36; C Sharma 3/51) beat India 245/7 in 50 overs (Gavaskar 92, Srikkanth 75; Akram 3/42) by 1 wicket

Arch-rivals Pakistan and India were head-to-head in the final of the Austral-Asia Cup at Sharjah in 1986. Imran Khan inserted India, who began with a bang. Openers Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth, who scored 75, strung 117, after which the former added 99 with Dilip Vengsarkar. But once Vengsarkar departed for 50, India fell apart, with Wasim Akram picking 3/42. India ended at a disappointing 245/7 with Gavaskar top-scoring with 92.

The chase started with Pakistan in early trouble, having lost 3 for 61 with the top order sent back cheaply. Javed Miandad began rebuilding with a 49-run partnership with Saleem Malik and 71 with Abdul Qadir. Wickets kept falling but Miandad remained focused, bringing up his century in the process.

Pakistan needed 4 off 1 ball with Chetan Sharma, having three wickets to his name, to Miandad. The batsman took guard outside leg, a low full toss arrived and Miandad swung hard over the deep square leg. The ball vanished and Pakistan celebrated a tense win by 1 wicket, with Miandad smashing 116*.