Pakistan involved in many one-day tied matches (26 April 1999)

26 April 1999

Pakistan involved in many one-day tied matches

M Shoaib Ahmed

The fifth match of the West Indies-Australia series ended in a tie in Guyana on April 21, 1999. It is the 14th instance in the history of One-day International cricket when a match ended in a tie since this kind of cricket was launched with an Australia-England game at Melbourne on January 5, 1971. English Referee Raman Subba Row declared the fifth One-day match between the West Indies and Australia a tie after a crowd invasion at the close of a tense encounter. Subba Row made the ruling after meeting Australia Captain Steve Waugh, West Indies Captain Jimmy Adams and both team managers. West Indies seemed to have prevailed by one run after Waugh failed to hit a winning four off the final delivery but Subba Row decided the Australians were prevented from making a third run to tie the game by the crowd.

Is a tie possible in limited-over cricket? Yes, it is. Pakistan have now been involved in five of these. Their first tied match was played against the West Indies on November 22, 1991. The venue was Lahore's Qaddafi Stadium. The West Indies totalled 186-5 in 39 overs and Pakistan ended at 186-9. Apparently having lost more wickets than the West Indies they should have lost. But the match was under '92 world Cup rules declared a tie.

Pakistan's next tied game was played at Hobart in Australia, on December 10, 1992 during the Benson & Hedges (now Carlton & United) World Series Cup competition. Australia scored 228 for eight in allotted 50 overs. Pakistan were 222 for 9 with one ball to go and seven runs required for a win. The left-handed Asif Mujtaba hit a six off the last delivery to make it a tie.

Pakistan's third tied One-day match was played at Georgetown (Guyana) on April 3, 1993. It was not a tied match according to regulations governing the series. The scores were level after the ball had been delivered and having lost one wicket fewer the West Indies should have won in the normal process. But the actual ending of the match was abnormal as a sizable crowd converged from all corners on the Bourda Ground and the fieldsman, who threw the ball from long-on to the bowler's wicket, appeared to have been shaken by this invasion. Hence the tie verdict.

According to the fifth World Cup rules the match should have also ended in a tie. But it was not being played according to those conditions. The match referee, former England batsman Raman Subba Row, took an eminently sensible decision in the circumstances by ruling the game as a tie.

Pakistan's fourth tied one-day International was played at Auckland in New Zealand, on March 13, 1994. Facing defeat after a batting collapse, they were once again rescued by the remarkable ability of their bowlers who produced another brilliant performance to put Pakistan in a winning position. But as luck would have it, the outcome in the end turned out to be one in which Pakistan and New Zealand Shared even honours.

Pakistan's fifth and last tied One-day International was played at Harare in Zimbabwe, on February 22, 1995. The Zimbabwean totalled 219-9 in allotted 50 overs and Pakistan ended at 219 all out in 49.5 overs. There were two other occasions when the rival teams were tied with identical scores, but under the playing conditions governing that particular series, the side losing fewer wickets was declared the winner.

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)