3 instances when a star Indian batter bowled the final over in white-ball internationals ft. Sachin Tendulkar
India beat Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I of the bilateral series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, July 30. India whitewashed the hosts 3-0.
This game saw a few things that one normally does not witness in international cricket - Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav bowling the final two overs of the match.
This was prompted by the excessive turn on offer from the pitch and the presence of the well-set Kusal Perera - a southpaw - at the crease. That India's new T20I skipper Suryakumar chose to do so despite having Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed at his disposal speaks volumes of his guts.
What was interesting about this move of Suryakumar's was that it forced the game into the Super Over, which Washington Sundar bowled and gave India a headstart after bowling Lanka out for just two. India then chased those runs down comfortably.
In this listicle, we take a look at three star Indian batters who bowled the final over in white-ball internationals:
#1 Sachin Tendulkar
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was perhaps the first Indian batter to bowl the final over in a white-ball international and come out on the right side at the end.
This happened in a match between India and South Africa in the semifinal of the Hero Cup in 1993 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Then-skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, trusting none of his other bowlers, turned to Tendulkar in a moment of inspiration.
It was a huge gamble that paid off, and it is one that even the great Tendulkar considers to be among the highlights of his career.
Needing to defend six runs, he conceded just three runs off the over, sealing the deal with a brilliant yorker in the end.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav brought a real cat out of the bag when he rolled his arms over to bowl the final over of the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Tuesday.
The hosts were cruising at one stage and seemed all set to pick up a big win until Suryakumar brought Rinku Singh into the attack in the 19th over and the latter repaid him by picking up two wickets for just three runs.
The skipper then bowled the final over himself and picked up consecutive wickets off the second and third deliveries.
However, new batter Asitha Fernando gave the strike to Chamindu Wickramasinghe, who, in turn, picked up two doubles to force the game into the Super Over.
#3 Virat Kohli
What a lot of cricket fans in India may have forgotten is that the legendary Virat Kohli too is a part of this club after having bowled the final over of the 2016 World T20 semifinal against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
India had batted first to put up a decent total of 192-2 on the board, in which Kohli had top-scored with 89 not out. In response, the Windies seemed to be cruising comfortably and needed twenty runs off the last two overs.
Ravindra Jadeja bowled the penultimate over and conceded 12 runs and skipper MS Dhoni, neglecting Ravichandran Ashwin, who had two overs up his sleeve, threw the ball to Kohli.
Needing to defend eight off the last over, Kohli's gentle medium pace produced a single and dot off the first two deliveries, giving rise to India's hopes.
Andre Russell, however, scored a boundary and six off the next two balls to send his team into the final, which they would go on to win by beating England. India, meanwhile, crashed out in the semifinal stage.