Top 5 tied matches in international cricket history

1) New Zealand vs England, 2019 WC final

Pretty much the go-to game for every Gen-Z cricket enthusiast. There are many good reasons why pundits all across the globe deem the 2019 World Cup finale as the greatest cricket match of all time. Least of them being, a nail-biting, super-over finish to the game- which should ideally have been followed by another super-over.

Kane Williamson won the all-important toss at the Lord’s Cricket Ground and opted to bat first. Despite some strong resistance coming from Chris Woakes (3/37) and Liam Plunkett (3/42), the Blackcaps fought back strongly and had a modest 242-run target to defend. Henry Nicholls (55) and Tom Latham (47) starred as the chief architects behind NZ’s total.

England’s run-chase, meanwhile, got pegged down early-on, as Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson accounted for their openers’ quick-dismissals. Fortunately, they had the calming presence of Jos Buttler (59) and Ben Stokes (84*) out in the middle to recover from the early blows. The duo stitched a match-defining 110-run partnership between them and looked set to tee-off the chase for England.

But that script got reworked soon enough, once Ferguson sent Buttler back to the hut. The period following his departure saw both teams see-sawing the momentum between themselves. Eventually, England required 15 runs to win off Trent Boult’s last-over. Three dots, two singles, a six, and a critical, 6-run overthrow later, they ended with 14, just one-short of the target. Super-over it is.

Batting first, England collected 15 runs of their allotted six balls. Bowling second, Jofra Archer gave away as many from his six-ball quota. But before this already nerve-wracking game could get any further extension(s), a favourable 26-17 boundary count came to England’s rescue and crowned them champions, thus, bringing an end to the ‘best cricket match of all time’.

Written by Soham Bhowal