Close encounters: Five most enthralling matches from 2020
2020 did witness quite a few thrilling matches, especially in the limited-overs formats. The battles between Australia and India saw nerve-wrenching thrillers which do make into our top five matches of the year. India were also involved in a couple of Tied T20I matches at the start of the year on the way to a series whitewash against the Blackcaps. Here are the top five thrilling matches in International cricket:
New Zealand vs India, Wellington (T20I):
After losing the T20I series, New Zealand were aiming to avoid the whitewash at least. The 4th match of the T20I series was played in Wellington where India struggled with the bat. India started off well but were soon six down for 88 runs on the board. But an unbeaten 36-ball 50 from Manish Pandey got India to 165/8 in 20 overs.
Fifties from Colin Munro and Tim Seifert put New Zealand on top in the chase. However, things turned around after Munro got run out by Virat Kohli. Shardul Thakur conceded only 6 runs in the final over when New Zealand needed only 7 runs to win as the match went into Super Over. The Kiwis got 13 runs in the Super Over while India chased it down losing a wicket and one ball to spare. Virat Kohli struck the winning boundary.
England vs Pakistan, Manchester (Test):
The 3-match Test series between England and Pakistan began at the Old Trafford with the visiting team making a promising start. Opener Shan Masood smashed 156 as Pakistan took a lead of 107 runs. However, the Pakistan team collapsed to 169 in the 2nd essay to set a target of 277 for England. The home team started well but lost wickets quite quickly and were down to 117. At this stage, Chris Woakes (84*) and Jos Buttler (75) added 139 runs for the 6th wicket to bring the home team back into the game. They went on to seal the game by 3-wicket margin despite 4-wickets from Yasir Shah.
Australia vs India, Sydney (T20I):
Matthew Wade was named as stand-in captain of Australia ahead of the 2nd T20I after losing the first match in Canberra. Wade smashed a 32-ball 58 opening the batting to power Australia to 194/5 in 20 overs. Shikhar Dhawan’s fifty gave a good start for India but the middle overs slowed down India’s chase. Indian skipper Virat Kohli got out leaving 46 runs needed from 23 balls. Hardik Pandya, alongside Shreyas Iyer, took India to a win with two balls to spare by smashing sixes off 2nd and 4th balls of the final over.
That’s as clutch as they come from Hardik Pandya! ???
Final scorecard: https://t.co/KEpZrVTqWs#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/hbf5u37gqP
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 6, 2020
Australia vs India, Canberra (ODI):
India lost the ODI series after losing the first two matches of the 3-match series. In the 3rd ODI, the Indian team got a chance to bat first where they fought to avoid the whitewash. India were 152/5 by 32nd over despite a fifty from Virat Kohli but ended up with 302/5 thanks to a 150-run stand in only 18 overs between Hardik Pandya (92*) and Ravindra Jadeja (66*).
Australia found themselves in a similar position losing five wickets for 158 runs in 31 overs. But a quick-fire 38-ball 59 from Glenn Maxwell brought the equation down to 35 from 34 balls with four wickets in hand. But Jasprit Bumrah cleaning up Maxwell turned the game into India’s favour which was followed by a couple of crucial wickets by debutant T Natarajan. India won the match by 13 runs by bowling out the hosts to 289.
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Rawalpindi (ODI):
After winning the first two matches of the ODI series, Pakistan aimed to complete a whitewash over Zimbabwe. The visitors, who batted first, lost three wickets for only 22 runs on the board. An unbeaten 118 by Sean Williams saw Zimbabwe end up with 278/6 despite a 5-wicket haul from Mohammad Hasnain. In reply, Pakistan were stunned by a spirited bowling performance from Zimbabwe.
CONGRATULATIONS ZIMBABWE! ?
They’ve seen off Pakistan in the Super Over to claim their first points of the @cricketworldcup Super League!#PAKvZIM pic.twitter.com/WQg16ktW4H
— ICC (@ICC) November 3, 2020
However, their captain Babar Azam kept the fight going scoring run-a-ball 125 but fell in the penultimate over. Pakistan still needed 13 runs with one wicket in hand but got 12 runs which took the game into Super Over as the series came under the ICC ODI CWC Super League. Pakistan lost both wickets in the Super Over for two runs and ended up losing the match.
