31 years ago, on this day, one of those rare tied ODI’s took place in Hobart between Australia and Pakistan.
It was a Benson & Hedges world series game, and it all came down to the last over of the game. Pakistan were chasing a target of 229, and by the last over, they needed 17 runs to win. Steve Waugh was the bowler, and Mushtaq Ahmed was the man on strike. Ahmed was caught out on the very first ball of the over, leaving Asif Mujtaba to score the remaining 17 runs, along with last man Aaqib Javed. Here’s how the next four balls went.
4,1,4,1.Mind you, there was an opportunity to run 2 from the 3rd ball of the over, which would’ve allowed Mujtaba back on strike. However, Aaqib Javed was not interested.
With seven needed for the last ball, Mujtaba was back on strike. Waugh delivered a full toss, which was hammered over the midwicket boundary for six by Mujtaba, making sure Pakistan did not lose the game. Maybe if they ran 2 instead of 1 on that previous occasion, the result might’ve been in their favor. Or it might not. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful and memorable finish during an era when you didn’t need runfests to be entertained.