Mahela Jayawardene, James Faulkner and MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter)
There have been several individual performances in cricket that have helped teams get the all-important win. However, all of them do not pass the test of time. On the other hand, there have been some rare performances that are etched in the memories of cricket lovers, even if they didn’t end up in winning causes.
While we associate certain players from across teams with the tag of ‘match winners’, sometimes, their individual brilliance is thwarted by the performance of the opposition. If an individual player would have been good enough to win tournaments single-handedly, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar wouldn’t have had to wait for 22 years before lifting the World Cup.
On that note, let’s go through some of the greatest performances from international cricket that ended in a losing cause for the team.
Here are the 10 best performances that ended in losing cause:
10. Irfan Pathan’s hat-trick vs Pakistan (2006)
Irfan Pathan. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Baroda pacer Irfan Pathan was the talk of the nation when he burst onto the scene in 2003 against Australia. He had the ability to swing the ball in both directions at a decent pace. India toured Pakistan back in 2006, where they played three Tests in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Karachi.
The first two Tests ended in a draw and the two teams came to Karachi with all to play for. A 21-year-old Pathan was given the new ball on Day 1 of the Test match, after captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bowl first.
After bowling three dot balls, Pathan pitched the fourth delivery up and it swung away from Salman Butt. The left-handed batter, who offered a defensive stroke, edged the ball through to Dravid at first slip. This opened the floodgates as Pathan dismissed Younis Khan off the very next ball with a trademark inswinger that trapped the right-hander plumb in front of the stumps.
Dark clouds gathered around the stadium and Pakistan’s innings turned gloomy in no time. Mohammad Yousuf came to the crease to face the hat-trick ball. The young Indian seamer bowled another inswinger and the ball went through Yousuf’s defence to crash onto the stumps. Pathan went on to pick two more wickets and ended with a five-wicket haul.
Irfan was pumped up and so were India with their arch-rivals reeling at 0/3 at the end of the first over. Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 245. India had the opportunity to seize the initiative with a huge first innings score.
However, they fell seven runs short of Pakistan’s total. The home side was relentless in its second innings as they declared at a mammoth 599/7, setting India an improbable target of 607. The tourists were rolled over for 265, therefore, losing by a mammoth 341 runs.
9. Yuvraj Singh’s unbeaten 103 vs South Africa (2005)
Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The left-handed batter played his team out of several precarious situations during his illustrious career. South Africa and India faced off in the first of the five-match ODI series in Hyderabad on November 16, 2005. The tourists had a lethal pace attack comprising Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, and Charl Langeveldt. Against a quality seam-bowling attack, India lost five wickets for just 35 runs.
Yuvraj Singh, who came in at No. 5, showed great resilience and notched up a gritty 103 off 122 balls. The Punjab batter found support from the likes of Irfan Pathan (46) and Harbhajan Singh (37*) as India recovered miraculously to reach 249/9 in 50 overs. At one point, not many would have backed the Rahul Dravid-led side to bat out the entire 50 overs, let alone get to a competitive score.
India fought well with the ball in hand. However, an 84-run stand between Jacques Kallis and Justin Kemp helped the Proteas win by five wickets and seven balls to spare. Yuvraj, however, was awarded the Player of the Match for his breathtaking knock.
8. MS Dhoni’s 113 vs Pakistan (2012)
MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter)
This innings from MS Dhoni has a lot of resemblance to the one from Yuvraj Singh against South Africa. In the first of the three-match ODI series against Pakistan in 2012, MS Dhoni walked into bat at No. 7. However, it was only the 10th over when the fans saw the Indian captain walk out to bat. This was after Junaid Khan dismissed four out of the first five batters.
At 29/5, India were in all sorts of trouble. However, Dhoni stitched a 73-run partnership alongside Suresh Raina to help the team get to 102. India, still were not out of danger when Raina departed for 43. Ravichandran Ashwin gave his captain able support and the two players took India to 227/6 in 50 overs. The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113* off 125 balls.
India went into the mid-innings break with momentum on their side. Pakistan were rocked early with two wickets falling with just 21 runs on the board. Opener Nasir Jamshed prevented further inroads and scored an unbeaten 101 off 132 balls to help the visitors win by six wickets and 11 balls to spare.
7. James Faulkner’s 116 vs India (2013)
James Faulkner. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The seven-match series was tied at 2-2, with two ODIs being abandoned. The all-important seventh ODI was played at the M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru. Rohit Sharma scored the first of his three double centuries and propelled India to 383/6 in 50 overs.
Australia lost wickets at regular intervals and were 138/6 and 211/8, during their chase. All-rounder James Faulkner, came into bat at the fall of the fifth wicket. The Australians are known to never give up and Faulkner did just the same. He scored a scintillating 116 off just 73 balls to keep the tourists in the hunt.
Faulkner was the last batter to be dismissed. He brought Australia within touching distance, as they fell short by 57 runs. With 29 balls still left in the innings, Australia could have won the match if they had wickets in hand.
6. Mahela Jayawardene’s 103* vs India (2011)
Mahela Jayawardene. (Photo Source: Twitter)
On the grandest stage, in the 2011 World Cup final, Mahela Jayawardene produced one of the finest innings from a Sri Lankan batter. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a very cautious start. When Jayawardene stepped out of the dressing room to bat, Sri Lanka had put on just 60 runs and lost two wickets in 16.3 overs.
The experienced Sri Lankan batter formed crucial partnerships with captain Kumar Sangakkara, Nuwan Kulasekara, and Thisara Perera to take the team to a competitive 274/6 in 50 overs. When Jayawardene got to fifty, the camera panned to his wife in the stands, who was seen gesturing to him to stay there at the crease. The right-handed batter didn’t disappoint as he went on to score 103* off 88 balls with the help of 13 boundaries.
India were 31/2 in their chase, having lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early. Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni scored 97 and 91* to help India win the ODI World Cup for the second time. Jayawardene’s knock went in vain but will be remembered forever.
5. Wahab Riaz’s five-for vs India (2011)
Wahab Riaz. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan met in Mohali in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup. It was a momentous occasion for both countries and excitement levels were going through the roof. India batted first and struggled against the raw pace of Wahab Riaz.
The left-arm seamer picked up a five-wicket haul, dismissing Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, and Zaheer Khan. A scratchy 85 off 115 from Tendulkar and some late fireworks from Suresh Raina helped India get to 260/9 as Riaz finished with phenomenal figures of 5/46 in his stipulated 10 overs.
Pakistan had a solid start to their chase but eventually made a meal of it as the innings progressed. India won the encounter by 29 runs to make it to the final. However, Riaz received a lot of adulation for his fiery spell.
4. Carlos Brathwaite versus New Zealand (2019)
Carlos Brathwaite. (Photo Source: Twitter)
If you missed watching this match live, and if you ever come across a time machine, go back in time and buy a ticket to Manchester, England and watch this pulsating affair. New Zealand and West Indies faced off in Match 29 of the 2019 World Cup. The Kiwis put on 291 runs in the first innings, on the back of a classic Kane Williamson hundred.
West Indies nosedived from 142/2 to 164/7 and were in serious peril. Carlos Brathwaite, who came into bat at No. 6, played one of the best world cup innings you would ever see. The all-rounder counterattacked with precision and smashed the New Zealand bowlers all around the park.
In the 48th over, he took Mark Henry for 25 runs while batting with No. 11 Oshane Thomas. The two-time ODI World Cup champions needed just eight runs off 12 balls. Brathwaite went for a big hit off James Neesham’s last ball in the 49th over and holed out to Trent Boult who was stationed at the boundary on the leg side.
The West Indies camp was stunned and Braithwaite was inconsolable. The New Zealand team went to the centurion and congratulated him for playing a magnificent innings. Brathwaite scored 101 off just 82 balls with the help of nine fours and five sixes.
3. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 160 vs India (2009)
Tillakaratne Dilshan. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The former Sri Lankan opener scored four centuries in ODIs against India, joint-most versus a particular side. However, very few would beat the fluency of this hundred. The fact that it came while chasing a mammoth 415 for victory, only makes it even more special.
After India reached 414/7 in 50 overs in the first of the five-match ODI series in Rajkot in 2009, not many would have given Sri Lanka a chance to get close to the giant total. However, with not much to lose, Sri Lanka’s top three enjoyed themselves in the middle. After Upul Tharanga scored a 60-ball 67, Kumar Sangakkara (90 off 43) joined forces with Dilshan and put on 128 runs in just 75 balls.
Dilshan got to 160 off just 124 balls before being dismissed by Harbhajan Singh. The spectacular innings was studded with 20 fours and three sixes. Sri Lanka eventually lost by 3 runs as the fans were treated to an absolute humdinger of a contest.
2. Ricky Ponting’s 164 vs South Africa (2006)
Ricky Ponting. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Now, let’s talk about arguably the best ODI match ever. Australia scored a jaw-dropping 434/4 in Johannesburg in the 5th ODI of their tour to South Africa in 2006. After a 97-run opening stand between Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting came out to bat and scored an epic 105-ball 164. He hit 13 fours and nine sixes en route to his highest ODI score.
When the Aussie captain was dismissed, Australia had 407 runs on the board, four wickets down and 14 balls left in the innings. Andrew Symonds’ pyrotechnics at the death, helped Australia reach 434.
This didn’t prove to be enough as South Africa, miraculously chased the runs down with one wicket and a ball to spare. Herschelle Gibbs scored 175 off 111 balls to help the home side seal the win. However, Ponting’s belligerent innings was honoured as both he and Gibbs shared the Player of the Match award.
1. Sachin Tendulkar versus Bangladesh (2012)
Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: Twitter)
On March 16, 2012, Sachin Tendulkar managed to score his much-awaited 100th international hundred against Bangladesh in an Asia Cup encounter in Mirpur.
The Master Blaster scored 114 runs off 147 balls with 12 fours and a six. His patient knock helped India post a decent score of 289 for the loss of five wickets against the Mushfiqur Rahim-led side. This was the legendary batter’s 49th ODI ton. Bangladesh went on to chase the target in 49.2 overs with five wickets to spare.
While Sachin ended up on the losing side, he hogged the limelight for his incredible feat. Registering 100 international centuries is not an achievement that we will get to see too often. This wasn’t the Mumbai batter’s most perfect century but it was one that was enough to fulfil the dream of billions of cricket enthusiasts around the world.