Tied matches are a rarity in Test cricket with only two instances in nearly 150 years of Test history. However, in its relatively short life of 54 years the ODI circuit has witnessed 45 tied games already. West Indies heads the list with 11 tied one-dayers, followed by India with 10. Pakistan, Australia and England have been involved in 9 tied ODIs each, with Zimbabwe and New Zealand close behind on 8 and 7, respectively.
Pakistan’s first tied match was against the West Indies at Lahore in November 1991. In a match reduced to 39 overs each, the West Indies batted first and after a brisk start totaled 186 for 5 in their allotted overs, with Desmond Haynes making 69. Pakistan responded well but were set back by a mini mid-innings collapse that saw them slide from 69 for 1 to 70 for 4, as Inzamam ul Haq, Ramiz Raja and Saleem Malik fell within the space of just 10 balls. A 47-run stand for the fifth wicket between captain Imran Khan and Ijaz Ahmed steadied the innings. Imran was the sixth man out at 171 for a well played 51. Pakistan still needed 16 runs to win in 9 balls, and then 10 runs from the last over which was to be bowled by Curtly Ambrose. The first four balls generated 8 runs for the loss of Moin Khan’s wicket. Mushtaq Ahmed joined Waqar Younis at the crease, who scored a single off the fifth ball. With two more runs required off the last delivery, Mushtaq played it towards the deep but was run out when a fine Richie Richardson pick-up and throw beat his attempt to complete a second run. The scores were level and though the West Indies had lost fewer wickets, the match was tied under the playing conditions that had been agreed for the series. This was Inzamamul Haq’s debut ODI.
Pakistan’s next tied ODI took place in December 1992 at Hobart against Australia in the Benson and Hedges World Series. Australia batted first and scored 228 for 7, despite being unsettled by losing three key batsmen to run outs. Dean Jones, Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn fell in this unfortunate manner. In reply, at 129 for 6, and needing 100 runs to win at 7.5 runs an over, Pakistan looked well beaten. Though a fine partnership of 68 between Asif Mujtaba and Rashid Latif raised some hope, 17 runs were still needed when Steve Waugh began the last over with Pakistan on 212 for 7. After Waugh dismissed Mushtaq off the very first ball, Asif Mujtaba and Aaqib Javed, through hard and energetic running, managed 10 runs from the next four deliveries. Mujtaba now needed a six off the last ball to save the match. Waugh tried a slower one which Mujtaba picked early and hauled over the mid wicket fence for a maximum. Against all odds, Pakistan had tied a match that had always looked beyond their reach. Asif Mujtaba was appropriately judged to be the Man of the Match.
For Pakistan’s third tied ODI, the opponents were again the West Indies. At Georgetown, Guyana, in April 1993, in the fourth ODI of a five-match series, Pakistan had the first use of the wicket and ran up a score of 244 for 6 with fifties from Inzamamul Haq and Basit Ali. West Indies began cautiously, losing Lara and Simmons early, but a quick-fire 41 from Richardson that contained 4 fours and 3 sixes allowed the West Indies to gather momentum. After Richardson’s cameo, Carl Hooper and Desmond Haynes added 106 for the fourth wicket in almost even time before two quick wickets, those of Haynes and Logie, in successive overs, brought the game back to an even keel. When Wasim Akram began the last over, West Indies were 234 for 5, needing 11 runs for victory. Eight runs were scored from the first five balls and the West Indies needed a couple from the last delivery to equal Pakistan’s score. Bishop played the ball to deep mid-on, took the first run comfortably and turned to complete the second. According to the rules of the series, in case of equal scores, the match would have been allotted to the West Indies for losing fewer wickets. However, while the second run was still being taken, a big segment of the crowd, thinking that the West Indies had won, descended onto the playing field. Match referee Raman Subba Row decided that the crowd invasion had impeded the fielding side while the ball was still in play. With people on the pitch itself there was no way that Akram could have thrown the ball to the striker’s end to attempt a run-out. Subba Row declared the match tied, a decision which both sides accepted as fair.
Pakistan’s next tied ODI happened almost a year later versus New Zealand at Auckland in March 1994. Pakistan elected to bat but managed just 161 runs on a slow wicket with Gavin Larsen’s slow medium pace proving very effective. Basit Ali top scored for Pakistan with 34 not out. New Zealand appeared to be coasting to victory with their score at 142 for 4. An outstanding spell of supreme pace and swing bowling by Waqar Younis completely staggered the home side, with the last six wickets falling for just 19 runs. Waqar had 6 wickets for 30 and Pakistan had pulled out a tie from an almost impossible position.
Pakistan’s fifth tied ODI took place against Zimbabwe in Harare in February 1995. Batting first, Zimbabwe played steadily to reach 159 for 3, after which wickets fell in quick succession and the pace of scoring slowed down. A 14 run flourish by Guy Whittall in the final over took Zimbabwe to 219 for 9.
The Pakistani response was built around a superb unbeaten 103 by Saeed Anwar. In a dramatic last over by Whittall, Wasim Akram, batting at No 11, joined Saeed Anwar. Wasim had split the webbing in his right hand while attempting a return catch earlier in the match and needed six stitches. After Saeed had hit a four and then taken a leg bye off the fourth ball of the over to equal the scores, Wasim was left with two balls to get the single required for victory. Sadly, playing with just one hand, he only managed to hit the fifth ball straight back to the bowler for an easy catch. Pakistan were all out for 219, leaving the match tied.
Pakistan played Sri Lanka in the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy in Sharjah in October 1999. Batting first Pakistan were 131 for 2 in the 35th over when Inzamam fell for 42. At 157 the other set batsman Mohammad Yousuf was dismissed for 48. Sri Lanka continued to take wickets at regular intervals and Pakistan innings folded for 196. Sri Lanka replied confidently and at 173 for 2 they were almost on the verge of victory with just 24 runs needed from 10 overs. At this stage Abdul Razzaq produced an amazing spell of reverse swing in which he took four wickets in nine balls without conceding a single run. With Wasim Akram also turning on the heat at the other end, the Sri Lankan innings ended on 196 and the match was tied. Razzaq took 5 for 31 and Wasim 3 for 38. This was Pakistan’s sixth tied one-dayer.
Pakistan’s seventh tied ODI came in May 2013, versus Ireland in Dublin, more than 13 years after their last tied white-ball game. It was also the first time that they had tied a match using the Duckworth-Lewis method. Pakistan batted first and their innings centered around a 188 run partnership for the third wicket between Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq. Rain stopped play after 30.4 overs when Pakistan were on 120/1 and 3 overs were lost due to this interruption, reducing the match to 47 overs a side. Pakistan posted 266 for 5, and after application of the Duckworth-Lewis method, Ireland’s target was set at 276. Ireland’s chase was led by a classy century from Paul Stirling at a run a ball and a blistering assault by Kevin O’Brien who struck 11 fours and 2 sixes in an unbeaten 84 off just 47 deliveries. When Saeed Ajmal began the last over Ireland required 15 runs to win. Two runs came off the first three balls before O’Brien hit the fourth ball for a six and scored a couple off the fifth, so that five runs were needed from the final delivery. O’Brien did stroke it to boundary but only for a four, so the game ended in a tie.
Later that year Pakistan played their eighth tied one-dayer at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia. Pakistan had first use of the wicket and put up a respectable score of 229 for six wickets. They owed much to 75 from Misbah ul Haq and to a late flourish by Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz, who added 52 runs in the final 4.2 overs.
In reply the West Indies were 191 for 8, when the 48th over began, needing 39 runs for victory. Saeed Ajmal had taken 2 wickets for just 21 in 9 excellent overs but he now came under attack as the Windies had no other option but to go for broke. They took 15 runs from his over at the cost of their ninth wicket. Junaid Khan conceded only 9 runs in the 49th over which meant that the West Indies had to score another 15 runs from the final over to win. With Wahab Riaz bowling, two singles came off the first two deliveries before Jason Holder, batting at No 11, hit the third delivery to the cover boundary for a four. Next was a dot ball after which came the coup de grace as Holder powered a length delivery inside out for a six over extra cover. More drama followed. Holder got an outside edge off the final ball which ran towards third man where Junaid picked up cleanly and threw on the bounce to the keeper Umar Akmal. With Holder yards out of the crease Akmal missed an easy run-out allowing the West Indies to escape with a tie.
Pakistan’s last and final tied ODI was against Zimbabwe at Rawalpindi in November 2020. Though technically the match was tied, a result was generated via the use of a super over which has now been ordained by the ICC as the official tie-breaker in ODIs. Zimbabwe made a disastrous start and were 22 for 3 at one stage with all 3 wickets falling to Mohammad Hasnain who bowled with exceptional pace. They recovered to reach 278 for 6 with Sean Williams scoring a fine century. Pakistan’s poor fielding did not help their cause. Williams was dropped four times, the first miss coming when he was just on 12. Hasnain ended with figures of 5 for 26. Pakistan were 151 for 6 in response, but were rallied by a century stand between Babar Azam and Wahab Riaz. When Babar was dismissed for a chanceless 125, Pakistan still needed 13 runs from the last over for victory. The first 5 deliveries yielded 8 runs and then a misfield off the last ball resulted in a boundary that allowed Pakistan to level the score. Blessing Muzrabani was the wrecker in chief with 5 wickets for 49.
In the super over that followed Pakistan, inexplicably, did not use the in-form Babar and managed just two runs which Zimbabwe overtook in three balls to win.
With the introduction of the super over, even tied international one-dayers now have an eventual winner. Whether this is the final death knell for ties in ODI’s or will the rules be modified again, only time will tell. There is already talk of limiting super overs only to the knockout stages of a tournament rather than making them the default mode for all tied ODIs.
Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.
salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com
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