5 highest-scoring tied matches in ODI history
Football and cricket have a lot of things in common. While the former is a lot simpler, the latter has its own share of quirks. One of the similarities between the two sports is that unlike many other sports where there is a winner and a loser in every game, they even have a result where neither wins or loses.
A draw in football and a tie in cricket are the same but their frequency aren't the same. While a draw is almost as common as a win or a loss, a tie in cricket is almost as rare of a goalkeeper scoring a goal. 33 tied matches in the history of ODIs are a testament to that. So when they do happen, they are memorable.
So here are the five highest scoring tied matches in ODI history:
5) England vs India - fourth ODI, Lord's 2011
Going into the fourth match of the five-match series 2-0 down, India knew that nothing less than a victory would keep their hopes of avoiding a series defeat alive. So when they were put into bat by England, they needed a good total on the board.
Despite the top-order failing to provide a solid platform, India put 280 on the board. It was all courtesy of a 169-run fifth wicket partnership between Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. Both players notched up a fifty and gave the hosts a stiff task, if there to claim the series.
Courtesy of an Ian Bell fifty and Ravi Bopara steadying the ship, England needed 48 from the last six overs with four wickets in hand,when the rain first made its presence felt. When they went off for the first time, India were runs ahead, but they came back and left again by which time England had sneaked ahead by 2 runs.
With 19 needed from 18 balls, a batsman batting in his 90s and still four wickets in hand, England looked in cruise control. But a tight over from RP Singh and two wickets in two balls by Munaf Patel, who removed both Bopara and Swann meant when they went off for the final time, the scores were level on D/L and the game finished as a tie.