Close shaves: Three ODIs which India won with only one wicket remaining
In any format of the game, it becomes difficult to chase a score when a team has only a few wickets left. In these cases, teams are under pressure most of the time during a chase as a single mistake can vanish their hopes of a win. The task becomes more tedious in the case of a limited-overs game when there is an additional factor of the required run rate. In ODIs, there have been just three instances when the Indian team has won a match by only 1 wicket. In this article, we will be discussing those three ODI games.
vs New Zealand, 6th ODI, India tour of New Zealand, 2003
In this game, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and decided to bat first. The Kiwi team could not perform well with the bat and managed to put up a total of 199/9 in 50 overs. For them, Lou Vincent scored 53 runs off 107 balls. Javagal Srinath picked up 3 wickets in his 10 overs giving away only 13 runs.
Chasing this total, India got off to a blistering start with opener Virender Sehwag hitting a wonderful century. He smashed 112 runs off 139 balls including 11 fours and 3 sixes. At one stage, India were 182/3 and required only 18 runs in 8 overs with 7 wickets in hands. However, the batting line-up collapsed from here and was reduced to 198/9. The last pair Ashish Nehra and Javagal Srinath somehow managed two singles in the end to ensure victory for the team in 48.5 overs.
vs West India, 1st ODI, West Indies tour of India, 2011
In this game, West Indies had set a target of 212 runs for the hosts with the help of a half-century from Darren Bravo. The Indian team had a horrible start in the chase and were reeling at 59/5 in 11.2 overs. However youngster Rohit Sharma played a fine knock of 72 runs off 99 balls to guide the team to the winning way. India lost their 9th wicket at 201 runs with 13 more runs required for the win. In the end, Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav hit one four each to take the hosts to a thrilling win.
vs Sri Lanka, Final of West Indies Tri-nation Series, 2013
This is one of the most thrilling ODI matches India has ever played and is still etched in the memories of fans. India were playing Sri Lanka in the final of the Tri-nation series held in the West Indies. The Sri Lankan team got all out for 201 runs in the first innings with Ravindra Jadeja picking up 4 wickets for 23 runs.
In the chase, the Indian side looked pretty comfortable and had scored 139/3 in 31 overs at one stage. From here, it kept losing wickets at regular intervals and the Indian fans had their heart sank with the fall of the 9th wicket on 182. Captain MS Dhoni somehow managed to take the game till the last over with Ishant Sharma at the other end. In the final over 15 runs were needed for a win and Shaminda Eranga bowled a wide off the first ball. Now India required 14 runs off 6 balls, and MS Dhoni hit a six, four and a six on the next three balls to script a historic win.
