Stats: Last ball victories in the Twenty20 tournament finals

Dinesh Karthik produced a match-winning cameo under immense pressure as he scored 29 off just eight deliveries including six when they needed five runs on the last ball. The Indian wicketkeeper’s achievement will remain a special one as it came in the final game after he walked out to bat with 34 runs needed from 12 deliveries. Karthik’s feat values more when known the fact that no team ever won chasing more than one run on the last ball of a Twenty20 tournament final match.

India winning the Nidahas Trophy final was only the 7th instance of a team winning a Twenty20 final on the final delivery while chasing. The first such instance was in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 where the Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings by scoring the final run on the last delivery. In one such instance, Brett Lee bowled his last ball of professional career when Sydney Sixers faced Perth Scorchers in the BBL 2014/15 final. He took two wickets on 4th and 5th deliveries when Scorchers needed one run before conceding it on the final delivery.

Four other Twenty20 finals went into Super Over with the scores level after 40 overs of play including two matches where a six was hit on the final delivery when seven runs were needed. Wayamba’s Indika de Saram against Ruhuna in the 2011 Sri Lanka T20 tournament and also Anwar Ali of Pakistan International Airlines against HBL in the 2013 Pakistan T20 tournament hit a six on the final ball of the 20th over in the final match when they needed seven runs. Both the sides lost in the Super Over to end up as runners-up.

Last ball wins for a chasing side in the T20 finals:

Karthik is only the 5th player and the first Indian to hit a six on the final ball of a successful T20I chase. The five runs Karthik helped India to chase down are the most on the final ball in a T20I and also the joint 2nd most in an International game. Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul (6 needed) against Sri Lanka in 2008 and Brendon Taylor (5 needed) against Bangladesh in 2006 successfully chased five and more runs on the final ball in ODIs.

Six off the final delivery in a T20I to win:

(Stats as on March 18, 2018)