ODI online fantasy cricket matches are always interesting. However, there have been a few matches that are exceptionally brilliant. The first ODI match played in 1971 between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
When the first three days of the third Test washed out, officials decided to abandon the match and, instead, play a one-off one day game consisting of 40 eight-ball overs per side. And this was the beginning of ODI and a new ear for the online cricket games fans.
Over the years this fantasy cricket format has presented some nail-biting finishes, remarkable individual performances and some truly astonishing victories against the odds.
Dishing out a few of the great ODI matches to the daily fantasy cricket fans of 11wickets app has been a herculean task for us. However, we have tried to compile a small list. Have a read on:
Sri Lanka v Australia – 1st ODI at Melbourne (3 Nov 2010)
After being the three-time defending world champion, Australia hosted Sri Lankans in a 3-match ODI series. It was before they were scheduling for the 2010/11 Ashes series. During the 1st ODI of the series, Australia chose to bat first after winning the toss. However, they could only set a target of 240 for the Islander team.
Sri Lanka started poorly and lost both their openers at 19 runs. For the third wicket, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene added 54 runs before Jayawardene dismissed. At 107 they already lost 8 wickets. Australia was on the verge of winning the match. Lasith Malinga joined Angelo Mathews and added a record 132 runs for the ninth wicket. Malinga runs out when the Lankans needed one run to win and the last batsman, Muttiah Muralitharan hit a boundary to seal the win.
India v Sri Lanka – 1st ODI at Rajkot (15 Dec 2009)
Yet another ODI in which Sri Lanka were the visiting team and the chasing. They won the toss and chose to field first and India scored 414 runs.
The Lankans reached 316 for the loss of only two wickets. At the end of the 37th over, Sri Lanka needed only 89 runs from 78 balls, they had eight wickets to spare. However, in the next four overs, they scored only 21 runs and lost 3 wickets. During the penultimate over, bowling by Zaheer Khan, 2 wickets more were gone and only four runs were scored. In the final over, the Lankans could only score seven runs and India won the match.
New Zealand vs Australia – Pool Match, ICC Cricket World Cup at Auckland (28 Feb 2015)
The two co-hosts and eventual finalists of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup played a pool match at Auckland and the Aussies chose to bat first after winning the toss. However, they were bowled out for only 151 with Trent Boult picking up 5/27 in his ten overs.
In reply, the Kiwis raced to 78/1 in only 7.3 overs and they still only needed 73 runs from 42 overs. At the ninth over, Aussie bowler Mitchell Starc uprooted two wickets and gave the Aussies a glimmer of hope. However, the two Kiwis Kane Williamson and Corey Anderson added 52 runs for the fifth wicket to swing the momentum back in their favour. In the end, the Kiwis won that match.
India vs England – Final, NatWest Series at Lord’s (13 Jul 2002)
Who can forget the exclusive moment when the then Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly rejoiced in a unique way after his team won the epic match against England.
The 2002 NatWest Series was a tri-series where England hosted India and Sri Lanka. After playing six games each in the league stage, India and England played the final at Lord’s.
At the finale
In the final, England set India a target of 326 runs. India started their chase well and reached 106 in only 14.2 overs with Captain Sourav Ganguly scoring a searing half-century. However, they were soon reduced to 146/5. At the sixth wicket, young Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif added 121 runs for the sixth wicket before Yuvraj was dismissed. India still needed 59 runs off 50 balls which was reduced to 12 runs off 15 balls after a 47-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Kaif and Harbhajan Singh.
Kaif scored nine runs in the 49th over which left India only two runs short of the target but Zaheer Khan was on strike for the final over. Khan scored those two runs in the third ball of the over to give India a famous victory at Lord’s
England vs New Zealand – Final, ICC Cricket World Cup at Lord’s (14 July 2019)
Is there any doubt, who will rule this spot? We don’t have. The finale of World Cup 2019 has written its name permanently in the history of cricket. The thrill, the drama of this match has surpassed many great ODIs.
Both the English and the Kiwis were competing for their maiden World Cup. The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 241 runs in 50 overs. But defending a low total against the might of the English batting was going to be a tough task.
In reply, England lost 3 wickets with only 86 runs and nearly 27 overs left to play. New Zealand had the upper hand but for the 5th wicket, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler put on a 110-run partnership to swing the game in England’s favour.
Last suspense moment
After some breath-taking moments, England scored 241 all out in 50 overs. The match was a tie. In the last over, Stokes did not take a run off the first two balls to keep the strike and hit a six off the third ball. In the fourth ball, he hit a full toss to deep midwicket and called for two but Guptill’s throw deflected off a diving Stokes’ bat and went to the boundary.
England needed three off the last two balls and tried to get two runs off each ball only for the non-striker to be run out on both occasions which resulted in a tied match. The game had to be decided in a super over but both teams scored 15 runs each and as a result, England have crowned World Champions because they scored more boundaries in the 50 overs.
Thanks for reading! Play fantasy sports at 11wickets app and enjoy!
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