Bowlers who have defended six or fewer number of runs to win the ODI
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. …
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.
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By The Cricket Lounge