Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Asela Gunaratne: Five thrilling last-ball T20I finishes

Dinesh Karthik’s heroics against Bangladesh on Sunday may well go one to be one of the most iconic knocks in Twenty20 cricket. But he is not alone, there have been plenty before him who also managed to keep their cool in the last ball of the match.

India have been in the same situation before and have been on the receiving end too. Australia, so often the masters in holding their nerve in a pressure situation, have a few of such edge-of-the-seat contests. There is also a surprise pick in this list of teams who helped their team to victory off the last ball.

The Raina-Yuvraj show (Sydney 2016)

Last-ball finishes are not an unfamiliar territory for the Indians and Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina pulled off a thrilling win in early 2016 at the iconic Sydeny Cricket Ground. With the series already in the bag, India were left to chase a humongous target of 199. The rookie Australian bowlers were picked apart in the first 10 overs, setting the tone for a thrilling chase.

Raina and Yuvraj needed 22 from the last two overs and stand-in captain Shane Watson nearly put a spanner in the works by giving away just five runs in the penultimate over. Andrew Tye had 17 runs to defend in the final over.

It was Raina’s show all the way. The southpaw got twos from the fourth and fifth balls of the over. The last ball of the match saw Raina take a step towards the leg side, and cut the ball behind point for a boundary. India became the first team to whitewash Australia in their own backyard (any format) in 140 years.

Topley tumbles (Cape Town 2016)

Reece Topley vs Chris Morris: This is what the match had come down to. The English left-armer had 15 to defend. England had done extremely well till then to restrict the Proteas after putting up just 134/8 batting first.

Kyle Abbott took the wise decision to get off strike in the first ball. Looking to nail yorkers to Morris, Topley only ended up gifting full-tosses to South African all-rounder, who got a four and six off consecutive deliveries. The equation came down to four from two balls and Morris and Abbott scampered for a couple.

With two needed from the last ball, Morris hit the ball straight to long-off and the batsmen set off for an improbable second run. All Topley had to do was to collect the throw from the deep and dislodge the bails to help his side tie the game (the batsmen had completed their first run). Alas, he spilled it, allowing the batsmen to complete their second run. South Africa, whose record under pressure situations is anything but flattering, showed nerves of steel here. Topley has not featured for England since the summer of 2016.

Netherlands’ giant-killing act (World T20 2009)

This was a World T20 held in England. The venue: The Mecca of cricket, Lord’s. After being put into bat, England put up a reasonably good total – 162/5 from their quota of overs. Everything was going to plan for to the hosts when they reduced Netherlands to 23/2 in the fourth over.

With the bowling lineup comprising of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom, cleaning up the associate nation seemed like a formality. But Netherlands were far from throwing in the towel. Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren built a timely partnership to set the tone for a tense finish.

Broad had the ball in his hand with the Dutch needing seven runs from the last over. The English pacer, relatively new in international cricket at the time, just gave five runs from the first five balls. Ryan ten Doeschate and Edgar Schiferli set off for a single with the ball going only as far as Broad, who could have walked to the stumps and taken the bails off.

A one-run win turned into one of the greatest upsets in World T20 history as Broad’s underarm throw resulted in an overthrow, allowing the batsmen to complete the second run. Holland’s bragging rights over England were not just restricted to the football pitch.

Ice cool Morgan

Javed Miandad’s heroics against Chetan Sharma in 1986 was not the only time India were on the losing end of a last-ball finish. It happened against England in 2012 too in Mumbai. Batting-friendly pitches and short boundaries have, on most occasions, ensured high-scoring contests, be it the Indian Premier League or international games.

The match was slipping away from the visitors, who were looking to draw the series with a win. With England needing 23 from the last two overs, some timely hitting from Jos Buttler off Parvinder Awana brought down the equation to his side needing nine from the last six balls. Ashok Dinda was on target during the first five, giving away just six. After a long team meeting, the Bengal pacer came steaming in. The ball arrived at a comfortable height for Morgan, who walked across the stumps and deposited the ball back over the bowler’s head for a six.

Gunaratne’s finest hour (Geelong 2017)

Almost everything seemed to be going wrong for Sri Lanka during this encounter at Geelong, a new international venue. Chasing 174 against a weakened Australian side, the Lankans had slumped to 40/5. An important 52-run partnership between Gunaratne and the seasoned Chamara Kapugedera kept their side in the game.

The odds were still stacked against Sri Lanka as the match edged closer to the finish line – they had all three wickets in hand and needed 48 from the last three overs. A massive over off Moises Henriques, which saw Gunaratne smash three sixes and a four infused life in the contest.

Tye was once again asked to bowl the last over. He had 14 to defend this time. Sri Lanka received another setback after Nuwan Kulasekera was out first ball. Tye faced the bat speed of Gunaratne, who now hammered a four and a six from consecutive balls. A single put Lasith Malinga on strike. The veteran pacer also managed to squeeze out a single. With two needed from the last ball, Gunaratne backed away on the leg side and lofted the ball over cover to finish proceedings.