Getting out of jail

What's the worst position a team has recovered from to win a one-day international? Some have won games despite being 0 for 2, 4 for 3, 6 for 5 and even 38 for 6. This week's List looks at the lowest scores at the fall of each wicket by teams that have gone on to win the matches in question.

South Africa recovered from being 0 for 2 against India in Cape Town in 2006 to win the match by 106 runs. They lost both Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis in the first over to Zaheer Khan, and slipped further to 76 for 6, before the fightback began. Justin Kemp added 60 with Shaun Pollock for the seventh wicket and another 138 - a world record - with Andrew Hall for the eighth. Kemp finished with 100 off 89 balls - his maiden century - and led South Africa to 274 for 7.

India chose to bat against Zimbabwe at the Adelaide Oval in 2004 but soon regretted their decision, losing Sanjay Bangar, Parthiv Patel and Sourav Ganguly with only four runs on the board. However, they still had VVS Laxman, who was in superb form after two consecutive hundreds against Australia. He scored another century (131 off 138 balls); that and half-centuries from Rahul Dravid and Rohan Gavaskar steered India to 280 for 7. Zimbabwe nearly got there with Stuart Carlisle and Sean Ervine scoring hundreds. It was the first time two Zimbabwe batsmen had scored centuries in the same innings, but they still fell short by three runs.

A more famous India-Zimbabwe contest, with the Indians in deep trouble again, came at Tunbridge Wells in the 1983 World Cup. Peter Rawson and Kevin Curran had shredded the top order, reducing India to 9 for 4. There was no immediate recovery and India were struggling at 78 for 7 despite a 60-run stand for the sixth wicket. Then Kapil Dev turned it around single-handedly, clobbering 175 off 138 balls to lead his team to 266, a total that was 31 too many for the Zimbabweans.

Last month Sri Lanka took on Bangladesh in the final of the tri-series in Dhaka. Sri Lanka had lost a league game to the hosts, but a repeat looked unlikely after Bangladesh were dismissed for only 152. However, Sri Lanka were in tatters eight overs into their chase, having lost five batsmen for six runs. Kumar Sangakkara contributed a steady half-century but Sri Lanka still needed 39 at a run a ball with two wickets in hand. Out came Muttiah Muralitharan, a bowler who holds no punches while batting, who smashed 33 off only 16 deliveries to secure a tense victory.

Few thought the Australia-West Indies contest at the SCG in 1996 would reach the thrilling conclusion that it eventually did, after the visitors were bowled out for 172. That belief was reinforced after Curtly Ambrose and Ottis Gibson left Australia mangled at 38 for 6 with virtually no hope of victory. Michael Bevan began to repair the damage but progress was slow and the asking-rate escalated. He even survived a caught-and-bowled claim from Roger Harper after replays showed the ball had touched the ground. It came down to Australia needing four runs off the final ball and Bevan lofted Harper to the straight boundary.

Another great escape against Zimbabwe. This time it was Pakistan who were in trouble at 51 for 7 after 19 overs in Sharjah in 1997. Moin Khan took charge, scoring 61, and ensured that the next two wickets added 100 runs. Defending 151, Waqar Younis got rid of the openers, after which the spinners, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed, ran through Zimbabwe for 119.

The India-Pakistan match in Gujranwala in 1989 was reduced to 20 overs a side because of poor light but India managed to bowl only 16 in the allotted time of 85 minutes. Pakistan had been reduced to 75 for 8 and eventually finished on 87. Pakistan's four-man pace attack then exploited the swinging and seaming conditions and dismissed India for only 80. One of the wickets was that of a debutant, Sachin Tendulkar, who made a two-ball duck.

The second-lowest score at the fall of the ninth wicket after which a team has gone on to win is Australia's 98 for 9 against West Indies in Sydney in 1992. The pitch had been soaked by three days of rain and Wisden said that both captains felt it was unfit for play. The game, however, was only reduced to 30 overs a side and Australia scored 101 for 9. West Indies found batting harder and collapsed for 87. Dean Jones' 21 was the highest score and Mark Taylor, who took four catches at slip, was the Player of the Match.

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