Most thrilling tied ODI matches in History

England vs Sri Lanka 1^st One Day International of the ongoing series was an epic contest all the way. One of the most thrilling tied ODI matches in history. The match will be remembered for a long time for it provided the apex level entertainment to all the cricket lovers. England has always been a dominant force on its home soil. As we have witnessed in test series as well, Sri Lanka had no chances of dominance in all three games. However in limited overs game the islanders showed some signs of life. In fact, Sri Lanka were the favorites to win the game having taken half of England’s wickets before ninety runs.

 But hats off to the chasing ability of Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler and what a finish by Liam Plunkett. Needing seven runs off the last ball, Plunkett hit a six to tie the game thus saving the home side from the first defeat of the series. This has been the first of the tied ODI matches in last two years. However there is no shortage of such games in cricket history which ended on an equal. Flashing back into the past the most epic of tied ODI matches has been the 1999 world cup semifinal. South Africa who are often labeled as ‘chockers’ lost a tied game on the basis of bad run rate in their group stage games. Australia on the other hand qualified for the finals and eventually lifted the World Cup title by defeating Pakistan.

Tied ODI matches no matter either they are during a bilateral series or an ICC championship event, always prove to be nail biting. Cricket fans all around the world desperately wait for such rare cricket matches. And the ones who get to enjoy these, keep them in their memories for ever. Unlike t20 games there is no super over rule in ODI cricket. And all the matches ending on a tie go down as the tied ODI matches. Had ICC adopted a way to make such games result bearing, it would have been great. Still these are the games full of suspense and adrenaline both for players and spectators.

Most thrilling tied ODI matches in History

Team 1	Team 2	Ground	Match Date
Australia	West Indies	Melbourne Cricket Ground	11 Feb 1984
England	Australia	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	27 May 1989
Pakistan	West Indies	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	22 Nov 1991
India	West Indies	W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth	6 Dec 1991
Australia	Pakistan	Bellerive Oval, Hobart	10 Dec 1992
West Indies	Pakistan	Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana	3 Apr 1993
India	Zimbabwe	Nehru Stadium, Indore	18 Nov 1993
New Zealand	Pakistan	Eden Park, Auckland	13 Mar 1994
Zimbabwe	Pakistan	Harare Sports Club	22 Feb 1995
New Zealand	Sri Lanka	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	11 Nov 1996
India	Zimbabwe	Boland Park, Paarl	27 Jan 1997
New Zealand	England	McLean Park, Napier	26 Feb 1997
Zimbabwe	New Zealand	Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo	1 Oct 1997
West Indies	Australia	Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana	21 Apr 1999
Australia	South Africa	Edgbaston, Birmingham	17 Jun 1999
Pakistan	Sri Lanka	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	15 Oct 1999
Australia	South Africa	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	18 Aug 2000
South Africa	Australia	Senwes Park, Potchefstroom	27 Mar 2002
South Africa	Sri Lanka	Kingsmead, Durban	3 Mar 2003
South Africa	England	Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein	2 Feb 2005
England	Australia	Lord’s, London	2 Jul 2005
Ireland	Zimbabwe	Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica	15 Mar 2007
New Zealand	England	McLean Park, Napier	20 Feb 2008
India	England	M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	27 Feb 2011
England	India	Lord’s, London	11 Sep 2011
India	Sri Lanka	Adelaide Oval	14 Feb 2012
West Indies	Australia	Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent	20 Mar 2012
Ireland	Pakistan	Castle Avenue, Dublin	23 May 2013
South Africa	West Indies	Sophia Gardens, Cardiff	14 Jun 2013
Netherlands	Ireland	VRA Ground, Amstelveen	9 Jul 2013
West Indies	Pakistan	Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia	19 Jul 2013
New Zealand	India	Eden Park, Auckland	25 Jan 2014
England	Sri Lanka	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	21 Jun 2016