Till date, just 7 instances where a team scored 15 or more runs in the final of an ODI have been recorded. Among those 7 instances, only three have been recorded in the past decade, and none in the last six years, and two of them even before the T20 format’s debut.
Read on to find out the most successful chases in the final of an ODI match.
4.17 runs by Pakistan vs West Indies in 2008:
In November 2008, Pakistan and West Indies clashed in a 3-match ODI series. Abu Dhabi hosted the first game where the home team got off to a very good start. On his way to a 106-ball 113, Captain Chris Gayle smashed 11 fours and 5 sixes. The 55 and top-order contributions from Ramnaresh Sarwan helped West Indies to reach 294/9. Shoaib Malik, the skipper of Pakistan walked out at No.5 when his squad was 159/3 in 32.1 overs and 134 runs were needed to win from 107 balls.
Despite not scoring many boundaries, Malik was very effective in getting runs at a fast pace. He reached 66 by the end of 47th over from just 49 balls with seven boundaries. He reached 66 by the end of 47th over from just 49 balls with seven boundaries. With 33 runs requested from 18 balls, Malik Malik went for a big heave in Jerome Taylor’s bowling but was caught at the edge of the circle. New batsman Kamran Akmal and Fawad Alam (Batting on 19 off 17) were left to chase 133 runs from 17 balls.
The next 11 balls yielded only 16 runs, as in that period Pakistan found only one boundary; a six in the 48th over by Kamran. Jerome, who had 9-0-37-2 figures, was due to defend 17 runs in the final over. And, Fawad picked a single on the first pitch, while Kamran was able to get sixes on successive balls – first hit over long-on and the following over deep point. The 4th ball got three runs thanks to a overthrow as Pakistan levelled the scores and finished the chase with a single on the penultimate ball.
