Top 5 tied matches in international cricket history

3) India vs Afghanistan, 2018 Asia Cup

Pressure-cooker situations and MS Dhoni have frequently gone hand-in-hand, so it’s hardly a surprise that the former India captain found himself at the core of one of team India’s most memorable ODI games.

Batting first, the Afghanistan batsmen made merry of captain Asghar Afghan’s decision to bat first on a tricky Dubai surface and posted a respectable first innings score of 252-8. Opener Mohammad Shahzad (124) and Mohammad Nabi (64) were the chief architects behind Afghanistan’s spirited batting show while India were buoyed by the wicket-taking form of Ravindra Jadeja (10-1-46-3) and Kuldeep Yadav (10-0-32-2).

In reply, India started off solidly with each of Ambati Rayudu (60), KL Rahul (57), and Dinesh Karthik (44) in the top-three posting 40+ scores. But the Afghani slow-bowling arsenal, led by Rashid Khan (9.5-0-41-2) and Nabi (10-0-40-2) picked up some key wickets in the middle-overs and shifted the momentum back to their side.

The final equation arrived at India needing to score 6 runs off Rashid’s over, with Jadeja and Khaleel Ahmed at the crease. And just when it looked like Sir Jaddu’s nerves would seal the deal for India, he ended up top-edging one to Najibullah Zadran at deep mid-wicket, handing the passionate Afghans their first-ever tied international match.

Since this was a group-stage match in a multiple-team tournament, both teams had to share points equally. Hence, there was no super-over to decide the winner of the contest.