After the advent of T20 cricket, the balance of cricket has shifted massively in the favor of batsmen. Big bats, small boundaries, aggressive mindset and fielding restriction & powerplays; the game of cricket is slowly becoming more of a “batsman’s game”.
These days, scoring 300 runs in an ODI match is no big deal. In fact, chasing 300 has become a joke. India’s fast bowler Ishant Sharma recently said on a Television show that the way batsmen are scoring runs, bowlers will be soon replaced by bowling machines. Although, Ishant said it in a comedy show, he very briefly defined how difficult the game has become for the bowlers in limited-overs cricket.
There was a time when 300 used to be a very big score and teams used to be sure of a win after scoring 300. But now, the game has changed. Forget about the entire team, an individual scores 264 runs in a 50 overs match. In the last 4 years, we have seen 4 double centuries in ODI cricket.
READ: Rohit Sharma becomes the first batsman to score two double hundreds in ODI cricket
In this article, we will have a look at all those occasions where a bowler has defended six or fewer runs in the last over in a One Day International (ODI) match.
The table below contains the occasions when the team defended six or fewer number of runs to win the ODI.
| To defend | Win by | Target | Final Total | Bowler | For | Against | Venue | Year |
| 2 | 1 | 194 | 193 (50) | Chris Pringle | New Zealand | Australia | Hobart | 1990 |
| 2 | 1 | 231 | 230 (50) | Glenn Maxwell | Australia | Pakistan | Abu Dhabi | 2014 |
| 4 | 2 | 221 | 218 (49) | Imran Khan | Pakistan | Australia | Sydney | 1990 |
| 5 | 1 | 212 | 211 (49.2) | Manoj Prabhakar | India | Sri Lanka | Colombo | 1993 |
| 5 | 4 | 159 | 154 (49.1) | Chris Cairns | New Zealand | West Indies | Bourda | 1996 |
| 5 | 3 | 196 | 192 (49.5) | Chris Gayle | West Indies | England | Trent Bridge | 2000 |
| 6 | 2 | 250 | 247 (54.5) | Dennis Lillee | Australia | England | Edgbaston | 1981 |
| 6 | 3 | 243 | 239 (49.4) | Stephen Boock | New Zealand | Zimbabwe | Hyderabad | 1987 |
| 6 | 1 | 271 | 269 (49.5) | Steve Waugh | Australia | India | Chepauk | 1987 |
| 6 | 1 | 221 | 218/9 (49) | Curtly Ambrose | West Indies | Australia | SCG | 1988 |
| 6 | 2 | 197 | 194/9 (50) | Winston Davis | West Indies | India | Motera | 1988 |
| 6 | 2 | 196 | 193/9 (50) | Sachin Tendulkar | India | South Africa | Eden Gardens | 1993 |
| 6 | 1 | 204 | 202/8 (50) | Damien Fleming | Australia | South Africa | Bloemfontein | 1994 |
| 6 | 5 | 290 | 284 (49.1) | Sachin Tendulkar | India | Australia | Mohali | 1996 |
| 6 | 5 | 230 | 224 (49.3) | Brett Lee | Australia | England | MCG | 2003 |
| 6 | 2 | 323 | 320 (49.5) | Mick Lewis | Australia | England | Wellington | 2005 |
Interestingly, India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar features twice in this list. Recently, Australia’s all-rounder Glen Maxwell defended 2 runs against Pakistan in UAE.
If you have a closer look, the last time a bowler defended six or fewer runs before Glenn Maxwell’s performance in the UAE, was way back in 2005 when Australia’s Mick Lewis defended 6 runs against England in 2005. Australia won that match by 2 runs.
This list isn’t that long and considering the way cricket is played these days, there will not be many more entries in this list.
***
By The Cricket Lounge
