† NEW ZEALAND v INDIA 1980-81

At Adelaide, December 23. India won by 6 runs. Like the two previous matches between the sides, this was a cliffhanger, with the issue open until the last over. India put up their highest score of the series, thanks to Yashpal"s belligerent 72, which included four pulled 6s struck in rapid succession and earned him the Man of the Match award. But with their bowling erratic and their fielding even less dependable, they were hard put to defend it. Doshi, by beating Howarth in the air and having him stumped, threw New Zealand into confusion, and they slipped to 134 for six before Cairns, who made 39 off 38 balls, and Burgess rallied them. Requiring 18 from the last three overs, with the Indians rattled, New Zealand looked certain to win; but the tide turned again, this time decisively, when Burgess was run out from the first ball of the 48th over.