Top 5 men's teams with the most appearances in tied ODIs ft. India
Now and then when the relevance of the 50-over format is questioned, doubts are raised about its survival in the next decade, or when some murmurs start about limiting it to just World Cups, it throws us a tied match. What can be a bigger example than the 2019 World Cup final? It came so out of the blue that even the rules weren't ready for what should happen to fairly decide the winner if the tie-breaking Super Over also ends up in level scores.
It happened again on Friday, when India and Sri Lanka, playing their now-almost-annual ODI rubber somehow ended the game with nothing to separate them. It was the 44th tied ODI in the 53-year-old history and the 10th involving India.
Below we look at which teams have been part of most of these rare games:
#5 Zimbabwe - 8
One of the old pillars of the sport, Zimbabwe have been involved in eight tied ODIs which puts them fifth on this list. Their first tied ODI came against India in November 1993 and the last in the same month of 2020 against Pakistan.
The 2020 one had more interesting bits of history. Although usually there are no Super Overs in bilateral ODIs, as we saw in Sri Lanka, this match had one which Zimbabwe won to register their first ODI in Pakistan since November 1998.
In November 2016, Zimbabwe saw a tied ODI against West Indies at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. Two years later, they were involved in the next tied ODI in international cricket against Zimbabwe, which also came at the same ground.
#4 Pakistan - 9
Pakistan are next on the list with nine tied ODIs. The Men in Green were involved in the third tied ODI in history against West Indies in Lahore in 1991.
It kicked off a can of such games with four of the next six tied ODIs seeing Pakistan as one of the competing teams. From 1991 till 1995, they played one tied ODI every year against four different opponents in five countries.
They were also involved in two tied ODIs within three months in 2013 - in May against Ireland and then in July against the West Indies.
#3 Australia - 9
The greatest-ever ODI nation, Australia, has seen nine tied ODIs which puts it third on this list. It's almost fitting that the first-ever tied ODI game involved Australia and West Indies at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 11, 1984.
It was part of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, a three-nation tournament involving Pakistan, with a three-match "final" ODI series to decide the winner. West Indies won the first, tied the second, and took the win in the third to claim the title.
Australia also played the second tied ODI, this time against England, in 1989. Their last such game came against the West Indies again in March 2012.
#2 India - 10
India's tied ODI appearances have been the most neatly spread and regular between 1991 and 2024. The first was against West Indies in 1991, during another Benson & Hedges World Series in Australia.
This time it was the first match of the tournament. Australia won the edition by beating India in the first two finals. After that, the Men in Blue have played almost every team in a tied ODI. In 2011, they faced England twice in February and September, with the first coming in the famous World Cup game in Bengaluru.
In this century itself, India has played seven tied ODIs, with Thursday's game being the second against Sri Lanka.
#1 West Indies - 11
West Indies are not only the 'OG' champions of the ODI format but also the leaders in tied ODI appearances. From the first in 1984 against Australia, till the last against Netherlands in June 2023, they have played 11 such games.
Unfortunately, the tied games also track their fall in the format.
In 1984, they were one of the top two teams in the world and in 2023, the tied game was in the qualifying stage of a World Cup against associate nation Netherlands, which they lost in the Super Over despite being in a winning position earlier. This meant that they couldn't even participate in the 2023 World Cup.