5 of Team India’s closest wins chasing a target in T20Is

It was India’s 99th Twenty20 International since their debut in this very form in December 2006 and the occasion was a high-profile one: a final against a gritty Bangladesh. It looked the Men in Blue, who did not field their best side in the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka, made it a tad too difficult for themselves as they required 34 runs in the last 12 deliveries. But as long as Dinesh Karthik, India’s all-season man was there, nothing was really impossible.

Karthik, who has been picked as the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders in Indian Premier League 2018, clobbered 22 runs in the penultimate over and then pulled out a match-winning six in the final delivery of the match to hand the Bangladeshis yet another earth-shattering defeat in the final.

In terms of chase, it was India’s second closest win (though closest in terms of balls remaining) in a T20I game. Here we list five T20I games in which the Indian team had to fight hard before they had the last smile over their opponents:

1. Beat South Africa by 6 wickets with 1 ball to go – Johannesburg, December 2006

It happened to be Team India’s debut match in T20 format. South African skipper Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat and the Proteas posted a modest total of 126 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs.

The Indian innings was opened by stand-in captain Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar and in the 12th over, the visitors stood at 71 for 3 with Tendulkar, Sehwag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni back into the hut. It was then left for Dinesh Mongia (38 off 45) and Dinesh Karthik (31 not out of 28) to take India closer to the target. Mongia fell in the 18th over at the team score of 108 and they needed 19 off 15 balls. The next 9 balls fetched 10 runs and with newcomer Suresh Raina with him, it was all upto Karthik to see his team home.

India needed nine runs in the last over and just like he did against Bangladesh the other night, DK slammed left-arm orthodox Robin Peterson over the deep midwicket for a maximum. This made the equation – three required off five and India did not disappoint their fans from there with Karthik deservingly hitting the winning run with one delivery to go. The win looked all the more special because it came under testing conditions: slight drizzle, quick wicket and movement for the bowlers. Karthik was adjudged the Man of the Match.

2. Beat Australia by 7 wickets on the last ball of the match – Sydney, January 2016

Having lost the three-match series, the Australians were like wounded tigers and they posted a big total – 197 for 5 in 20 overs after skipper Shane Watson won the toss and chose to bat first. Watson then hit a magnificent 124 not out off just 71 balls to help his side touch almost the 200-run mark. All the Indian bowlers took a pounding as Watson batted the entire innings. The Indians made a good start and required 22 balls in the last 12 overs with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli hitting half-centuries. But Watson’s miserly bowling allowed India to take just five runs in the 19th over to leave them in a tighter spot, they needed 17 off six balls.

Andrew Tye came into bowl the last over and with Yuvraj Singh struggling in the previous over, the fans were apprehending whether it would be a return to the final of the T20 World Cup in 2014. But the left-hander did not disappoint this time as he hits a boundary and an over boundary in the first two balls of the over. It becomes an easier equation for India from there on with nine needed in the last four deliveries.

Suresh Raina, the other batsman on the wicket then, pushes a short stuff from Tye over point for a four. India needed two off the last delivery and the boundary was more than enough to help India complete a 3-0 whitewash Down Under. Watson was picked the Man of the Match while Kohli was the player of the series.

3. Beat Australia by 6 wickets with 2 balls to spare – Rajkot, October 2013

The Aussies posted a formidable score of 201 for 7 in 20 overs in this one-off T20I played in Rajkot in October 2013. Aaron Finch’s 52-ball 89 had propelled the visitors to that score after Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. Their response was not the best till about the middle of their innings.

After losing Rohit Sharma cheaply, the top order could not push it through much and when Kohli departed for 29 in the 12th over, India were placed at 100 for 4 with the asking rate shooting through the roof. It was then that Yuvraj Singh showed his mettle with the bat once again. The left-hander was at his ruthless best, scoring an unbeaten 77 off just 35 balls to take India home in partnership with Dhoni who looked pale in comparison. This innings from Yuvraj, which included five sixes, was special for he made his second comeback after recovering from a serious ailment.

However, when cricket is the focal point, nothing else could really deter him as Yuvraj proved again. His 102 run-partnership with Dhoni in just 51 balls made this one of India’s best ever wins chasing.

4. Beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets with 4 balls remaining – Colombo, Feb 2009

It was a one-off match versus Sri Lanka in Colombo. The hosts scored a competitive 171 for 4 in 20 overs, thanks to 61 from skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan. India were left reeling at 115 for 7 from a dominant 81 for 2 and that is when the Pathan brothers took over.

The duo came at 8 and 9 with Yusuf appearing first but it was Irfan who ended up scoring more than his brother. Both Pathans hit two sixes each and the Sri Lankan bowlers who were looking ominous a few overs earlier started falling apart with Dilshan being forced to give up the idea of spinning it more.

India needed 57 from 29 balls when their seventh wicket fell but the brothers took just 25 balls to drive their team home. The 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th runs went for 17, 17, 10 and 13 runs, respectively. India required just five runs in the final over and Irfan whacked it over the midwicket into the stands to end it there. The bowler was Lasith Malinga. Boy! Did he know that something similar was waiting for him at the Wankhede two years later?

5. Beat Australia by 9 wickets with 3 balls to go – Ranchi, October 2017

Though not a full match because of the intervention by rain gods, this game proved to be a thriller with India managing to overhaul the target with just three balls to spare. It was the first of the three-game T20I series in which Australian captain David Warner won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch which was not friendly for the batsmen. The visitors were 118 for 8 in the 19th over when rain intervened.

When it gave way, India’s target was reduced to 49 but they had only six overs to make it. The Australians did not concede it easily even as the hard-hitting Indian batsmen took stance. Rohit Sharma was the only man to be dismissed in the second over and the Shikhar Dhawan-Virat Kohli duo kept on hitting the required boundaries to keep things under control. India required just six runs in the final over after Adam Zampa gave just six runs in the second-last over but Kohli hit Daniel Christian for a four through the extra cover to seal a lead for India in the series.