A Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 46: Miandad Turns Four From One Ball Into the Six That Changed India-Pakistan Cricket

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, April 18, 1986: Pakistan needed four runs from one ball.

Nine wickets were gone.

Javed Miandad had spent almost the entire chase keeping Pakistan alive while India repeatedly threatened to finish the final.

At the other end stood Tauseef Ahmed, the No. 11 batter.

TSE VISUAL BRIEFING

Story at a glance

01

India vs Pakistan 1986 Austral-Asia Cup Final: Match at a Glance

The official historical scorecard records India’s 245/7, Pakistan’s 248/9, Miandad’s unbeaten 116 and Pakistan’s one-wicket victory from the last ball. PCB

02

Why Match 46 Belongs in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs

Many great matches are remembered because the final over is tense.

03

Kris Srikkanth Attacks Before Pakistan Can Settle

India’s innings began brilliantly.

04

Sunil Gavaskar Builds the Innings India Needed

Gavaskar scored:

05

Dilip Vengsarkar Pushes India to 216/1

Vengsarkar contributed:

Chetan Sharma had one delivery left to win the Austral-Asia Cup for India.

He attempted the yorker.

The ball arrived as a full toss.

Miandad swung through midwicket.

Six.

Pakistan 248/9.

India 245/7.

A final that India had controlled for long stretches ended with perhaps the most famous last-ball shot in ODI history.

The six is what everyone remembers.

The match deserves deeper examination because the final delivery only existed after Miandad spent 49.5 overs repeatedly rebuilding a chase that kept falling apart around him.

Pakistan had been 9/1, 39/2, 61/3 and 110/4.

Later they were 215/7.

Then 241/9.

India had several opportunities to finish them.

Miandad kept finding another partner, another run, another way to delay defeat.

That is why India vs Pakistan at Sharjah is Match 46 in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs.

The original TSE roadmap reduces the reason for inclusion to six unforgettable words: four required, Miandad facing Sharma, six. The Sports Encounter

Everything that happened before those six words explains why the moment has lasted for four decades.

TL;DR

• Pakistan won the toss and chose to field.
• India scored 245/7 from 50 overs.
• Sunil Gavaskar made 92 from 134 balls.
• Kris Srikkanth scored 75 from 80.
• Dilip Vengsarkar added 50 from 64.
• India were 216/1 before Pakistan’s bowlers transformed the final overs.
• Wasim Akram took 3/42.
• Imran Khan claimed 2/40.
• Pakistan slipped to 61/3 during the chase.
• Javed Miandad made 116 not out from 114 balls.
• Abdul Qadir contributed a crucial 34 from 39.
• Pakistan needed 11 from the final over.
• Wasim Akram was run out from the first ball.
• Zulqarnain was bowled later in the over.
• A missed run-out allowed Tauseef Ahmed to get Miandad back on strike.
• Pakistan needed four from the final ball.
• Chetan Sharma attempted a yorker but delivered a full toss.
• Miandad hit it over midwicket for six.
• Pakistan won by one wicket from the final ball.
• Miandad was named Man of the Match.
• Sunil Gavaskar was Player of the Series.
• Pakistan won the inaugural Austral-Asia Cup.

India vs Pakistan 1986 Austral-Asia Cup Final: Match at a Glance

The official historical scorecard records India’s 245/7, Pakistan’s 248/9, Miandad’s unbeaten 116 and Pakistan’s one-wicket victory from the last ball. PCB

Why Match 46 Belongs in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs

Many great matches are remembered because the final over is tense.

This one is remembered because of one delivery.

Yet reducing the 1986 final to the last-ball six risks losing what made the six meaningful.

India had three batters score 50 or more.

Pakistan lost wickets throughout the chase.

Miandad never had a dominant long-term partner.

Pakistan entered the final over needing 11 with only three wickets standing.

Two more wickets fell.

The No. 11 batter then almost failed to get Miandad back on strike.

By the final delivery, Pakistan had exhausted almost every possible escape route.

Four runs were required.

A three would tie.

Anything below that would lose the cup.

The batter had to find the boundary.

Miandad found six.

Few ODI endings have compressed consequence so completely into a single ball.

Kris Srikkanth Attacks Before Pakistan Can Settle

India’s innings began brilliantly.

Kris Srikkanth supplied the aggression.

He made:

75 runs

80 balls

8 fours

2 sixes

Strike rate: 93.75

That scoring rate carried considerable value in 1986.

Srikkanth attacked while Gavaskar played the more controlled role.

Together they added 117 for the first wicket.

Pakistan had chosen to field, hoping to control India.

Instead, the openers gave Kapil Dev’s side a powerful platform.

Sunil Gavaskar Builds the Innings India Needed

Gavaskar scored:

92 runs

134 balls

6 fours

Strike rate: 68.66

His innings was constructed for the era and the situation.

He stayed through multiple partnerships and gave India continuity almost to the end.

The contrast with Srikkanth worked.

One attacked.

One occupied the crease.

After Srikkanth fell, Dilip Vengsarkar joined Gavaskar and ensured the early platform was not wasted.

Dilip Vengsarkar Pushes India to 216/1

Vengsarkar contributed:

50 from 64 balls

His fifty contained only one six and no fours, showing how effectively he and Gavaskar accumulated through running and placement.

India reached 216/1.

At that point, the final appeared positioned for a much larger score.

Thirty-four deliveries later, India would finish with only 245.

That late slowdown became one of the match’s first decisive shifts.

Wasim Akram Turns India’s Finish Into a Missed Opportunity

Wasim Akram was only 19, but the characteristics that would define his career were already visible.

He finished with:

10 overs

1 maiden

42 runs

3 wickets

Vengsarkar was bowled for 50.

Kirti Azad followed for zero.

Ravi Shastri was also bowled.

India had gone from one wicket down to losing wickets too quickly to produce the finish their platform demanded.

Wasim’s intervention prevented 216/1 from becoming 270 or more.

That mattered enormously five hours later.

Imran Khan Removes Gavaskar Before India Can Explode

Imran Khan contributed another controlled spell:

10 overs

2 maidens

40 runs

2 wickets

His wickets included Kapil Dev and Gavaskar.

Gavaskar’s dismissal for 92 denied India the experienced set batter they needed in the final overs.

India scored only 29 runs after reaching 216/1.

That was the hidden opening Pakistan later exploited.

India’s 245 Was Strong, but 216/1 Suggested It Should Have Been More

This is one of the central reasons the final cannot be understood through Miandad alone.

India had dominated most of their innings.

At 216/1, they possessed wickets, two established batters and a strong platform.

They finished on 245/7.

Pakistan had conceded only 29 additional runs while taking six wickets.

That difference converted what might have been an intimidating target into a chase Pakistan could just about keep alive.

Complete Match Scorecard

India Batting: 245/7 in 50 Overs

Did not bat: Mohammad Azharuddin, Madan Lal, Maninder Singh

Extras: 9

Total: 245/7 in 50 overs

Run rate: 4.90

Fall of wickets: 117/1 Srikkanth, 216/2 Vengsarkar, 216/3 Azad, 229/4 Kapil Dev, 242/5 Chetan Sharma, 245/6 Ravi Shastri, 245/7 Gavaskar.

Pakistan Bowling

Pakistan Lose Three Early Wickets and Miandad Becomes the Chase

Pakistan needed 246.

Their start was poor.

Mudassar Nazar made five.

Ramiz Raja scored 10.

Mohsin Khan reached 36 but could not convert the start.

Pakistan were 61/3.

Miandad was now responsible for keeping the innings alive.

He could not simply attack because another cluster of wickets would end the final.

He could not bat too slowly because 246 still had to be reached.

His innings became a long exercise in managing both risks.

Javed Miandad Builds the Chase Before He Wins It

Miandad’s final numbers:

116 not out

114 balls

3 fours

3 sixes

Strike rate: 101.75

The strike rate is striking in its historical context.

Pakistan lost wickets regularly, yet Miandad still finished above a run a ball.

He did not achieve that by hitting constant boundaries.

Only 30 of his 116 runs came in fours and sixes.

The majority came through running, placement and manipulation of the field.

That becomes important when understanding his final-ball six.

The defining shot was explosive.

The innings that created it was largely constructed through calculation.

Saleem Malik Helps Pakistan Reach 110 Before Another Setback

Saleem Malik made 21 from 37.

He and Miandad moved Pakistan from 61/3 to 110/3.

The partnership did not dominate India.

It stabilized the chase.

Then Malik was run out.

Pakistan were 110/4.

Again, Miandad needed someone to stay.

Abdul Qadir became that player.

Abdul Qadir’s 34 Is the Hidden Innings of the Final

Qadir made:

34 runs

39 balls

1 four

1 six

Strike rate: 87.18

His contribution is often lost beneath Miandad’s six.

It should not be.

Qadir and Miandad added 71 runs after Pakistan had fallen to 110/4.

That partnership took the chase to 181.

Without it, there is probably no last-ball finish.

Qadir gave Miandad time to continue pacing the chase rather than being forced into desperation too early.

Kapil Dev eventually removed him.

India regained the advantage.

India Keep Taking Wickets but Cannot Remove Miandad

Imran Khan fell for seven.

Manzoor Elahi made four.

Pakistan slipped to 215/7.

India were one sustained burst away from victory.

Miandad remained.

This was the critical pattern throughout the chase.

India were taking wickets.

They were not taking the wicket.

As long as Miandad remained, Pakistan retained access to the result.

Chetan Sharma’s Figures Were Good Before the Final Ball

Cricket memory can be cruel.

Chetan Sharma is often remembered from this match only as the bowler who delivered the final full toss.

His complete performance was far better than that single image suggests.

He took:

3 wickets for 51 runs from nine overs

He removed Mudassar Nazar.

Later he dismissed Manzoor Elahi.

Then he bowled Zulqarnain during the final over.

That third wicket left Pakistan nine down.

Chetan did much of the work required to win India the cup.

One missed length overwhelmed everything that came before.

Maninder Singh Gives India Their Best Control Spell

Maninder Singh returned:

10 overs

36 runs

1 wicket

Economy: 3.60

He dismissed Ramiz Raja.

More importantly, he provided control while Pakistan tried to rebuild.

India’s attack largely did its job.

Pakistan required something exceptional.

Miandad supplied it.

Pakistan Reach the Final Over Needing 11

After 49 overs:

Pakistan 235/7.

Target: 246.

Required: 11 from six balls.

Miandad was on strike.

Kapil Dev handed the ball to Chetan Sharma.

The over that followed became one of cricket’s most replayed sequences.

First Ball: Wasim Akram Is Run Out

Miandad played toward long-on and attempted to extract two.

Wasim Akram could not complete the second run.

Run out.

Pakistan had lost their eighth wicket.

The requirement remained severe.

The tail was exposed.

India were closer.

Second Ball: Miandad Finds Four

Miandad responded immediately.

Boundary.

The equation tightened.

He was refusing to let the wicket change his aggression.

That response mattered because every remaining delivery now carried enormous pressure.

Third Ball: Roger Binny Prevents Another Boundary

Miandad swept.

Roger Binny produced an important stop near short fine leg.

Only one run.

The fielding intervention placed Zulqarnain on strike.

India now had the opportunity to attack a lower-order batter rather than Miandad.

Fourth Ball: Chetan Sharma Bowls Zulqarnain

Chetan hit the stumps.

Zulqarnain was gone for zero.

Pakistan:

241/9.

One wicket remained.

Tauseef Ahmed came in.

Miandad was stuck at the non-striker’s end.

India were one wicket from the trophy.

Fifth Ball: The Missed Run-Out That Kept Pakistan Alive

Tauseef pushed the ball and ran.

The single was extremely risky.

A direct hit could have ended the match.

Mohammad Azharuddin had the opportunity.

The stumps were missed.

Tauseef survived.

More importantly, the single returned Miandad to strike.

Pakistan now needed:

Four runs from one ball.

That missed run-out is the final’s forgotten hinge.

Had India completed it, there would have been no full toss, no six and none of the mythology that followed.

Final Ball: Chetan Sharma Misses the Yorker

The logic of the delivery was sound.

Four were required.

Chetan wanted the yorker.

Executed correctly, it would have been difficult to hit for a boundary.

Execution failed.

The ball became a full toss.

Miandad was already prepared for something full.

He swung through midwicket.

The ball cleared the boundary.

Pakistan had won.

Javed Miandad’s Six Becomes Larger Than the Match

Some sporting moments remain attached to their original competition.

Others escape it.

Miandad’s six became larger than the Austral-Asia Cup.

For Pakistan supporters, it became a symbol of refusing defeat against India.

For Indian supporters, it became one of the rivalry’s most painful memories.

For neutral cricket followers, it became shorthand for the possibilities of the final ball.

Four decades later, a mention of “Miandad, Chetan Sharma, Sharjah” requires almost no additional explanation.

That is unusual.

It is also exactly the kind of collective sporting memory this 100-match series is designed to preserve.

Complete Pakistan Scorecard

Pakistan Batting: 248/9 in 50 Overs

Extras: 11

Total: 248/9 in 50 overs

Run rate: 4.96

Fall of wickets: 9/1 Mudassar Nazar, 39/2 Ramiz Raja, 61/3 Mohsin Khan, 110/4 Saleem Malik, 181/5 Abdul Qadir, 209/6 Imran Khan, 215/7 Manzoor Elahi, 236/8 Wasim Akram, 241/9 Zulqarnain.

India Bowling

Seven Turning Points That Decided the Final

1. India Reach 216/1

Srikkanth, Gavaskar and Vengsarkar created the platform for a total well above 250.

Pakistan had to stop the finish.

2. Wasim and Imran Restrict India to 245

India added only 29 more runs while losing six wickets.

The target remained within reach.

3. Pakistan Fall to 61/3

The chase lost its early structure and forced Miandad into a long rebuilding role.

4. Abdul Qadir Adds 71 With Miandad

Qadir prevented India from isolating Miandad too early and brought Pakistan back into range.

5. Pakistan Lose Their Seventh Wicket at 215

India appeared to have finally exposed the lower order.

Miandad still refused to surrender.

6. Azharuddin Misses the Run-Out

Tauseef’s risky single could have ended the game before the final ball.

Instead, Miandad regained the strike.

7. Sharma Misses His Yorker

The plan was understandable.

The execution was fatal.

Miandad punished the full toss with the shot that decided the tournament.

Man of the Match Javed Miandad Controlled More Than the Final Ball

The temptation is to judge Miandad through the six.

His larger achievement was surviving the entire chase.

He entered at 39/2.

Pakistan then moved through 61/3, 110/4, 181/5, 209/6, 215/7, 236/8 and 241/9.

He remained at the crease through every one of those scorelines.

That persistence turned the final ball from a desperate lower-order swing into a situation Pakistan’s best batter could actually control.

His 116 not out was deservedly named the Man of the Match performance. PCB

Sunil Gavaskar’s 92 Deserved More Than a Losing Final

Gavaskar’s innings can be overshadowed by the finish.

It should not be.

He batted almost the entire Indian innings and made 92 from 134 balls.

His partnership with Srikkanth established India’s advantage.

His presence allowed Vengsarkar to settle.

India were ahead for most of the match largely because Gavaskar had built a serious total.

He was later named Player of the Series.

The final’s ending does not change the quality of his tournament.

Wasim Akram’s Three Wickets Created the Margin Miandad Needed

Miandad’s six wins the highlight reel.

Wasim’s 3/42 helps explain why four runs from the final ball were enough.

India had been 216/1.

Wasim removed Vengsarkar, Azad and Shastri while Imran removed Kapil and Gavaskar.

The late collapse kept India to 245.

Had India converted their platform into another 20 or 25 runs, even Miandad’s innings may not have been enough.

Why India Lost a Match They Controlled for So Long

India’s defeat came from three connected failures.

First, the batting finish.

From 216/1, India should have been positioned for more than 245.

Second, Miandad was never removed.

India consistently made progress around him without taking the wicket that would have ended Pakistan’s chase.

Third, the fifth ball of the final over offered an opportunity to dismiss Tauseef and finish the match.

The run-out was missed.

Only after all three developments did Sharma’s final-ball full toss become decisive.

The six was the ending.

India had allowed Pakistan to remain alive long enough for an ending to exist.

Why Pakistan Won Despite Losing Nine Wickets

Pakistan’s victory was built around survival rather than control.

Miandad gave the chase continuity.

Qadir gave him the most important partnership.

The bowlers had earlier prevented India from maximizing 216/1.

Then the lower order found just enough runs to keep Miandad involved.

Tauseef scored only one.

That one run became priceless because it placed Miandad on strike for the final delivery.

This is one of cricket’s clearest examples of how the value of a run changes with context.

Sharjah Became Central to India-Pakistan ODI Folklore

India and Pakistan had already produced intense cricket before 1986.

Sharjah gave the rivalry a new visual language.

Neutral venue.

Packed expatriate crowds.

Tournament finals.

Pressure condensed into limited-overs cricket.

The Miandad six became the defining image of that period.

Future Sharjah meetings carried the memory with them.

That is part of why the moment endured long after the Austral-Asia Cup itself disappeared from the calendar.

Match 46 Marks the Series’ Move Beyond World Cups

The first 45 installments of A Celebration of 5000 ODIs concentrated on World Cup classics.

Match 46 begins TSE’s section on multi-nation tournament thrillers. The main roadmap identifies the 1986 final as the opening match of that second phase. The Sports Encounter

The choice is appropriate.

A match does not require a World Cup trophy to become immortal.

Sometimes four runs from one ball are enough.

Pakistan’s Later World Cup Escapes Echo Miandad’s Refusal to Give In

Pakistan cricket has produced several later examples of matches surviving well beyond the point where defeat appeared likely.

At Headingley in 2019, Imad Wasim carried Pakistan from 156/6 to a two-ball escape against Afghanistan in Match 33.

At Auckland in 2015, Pakistan survived AB de Villiers through an aggressive pace-bowling effort in Match 30.

At Headingley in 1999, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram helped deny Australia in Match 17.

Those matches belong to different generations.

The 1986 final helped establish the mythology of Pakistan remaining dangerous until the last possible ball.

India’s Greatest ODI Moments Show the Other Side of the Same Pressure

India’s ODI history contains its own defining pressure performances.

Kapil Dev’s team transformed 183 into a World Cup championship against West Indies in Match 5.

In 2019, India recovered from 5/3 and 92/6 before finally falling short against New Zealand in Match 38.

Afghanistan pushed India into another final-over crisis before Mohammed Shami’s hat-trick decided Match 34.

Sharjah is remembered differently.

India had the match.

Then one ball took it away.

KEEP READING

Continue A Celebration of 5000 ODIs

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A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 43: Miller Rescues South Africa From 24/4 Before Australia Survive Another Semifinal Thriller

A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 42: Maxwell Rises From 91/7 to Drag Australia Past Afghanistan With an Unbelievable 201*

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final?

Pakistan defeated India by one wicket in Sharjah.

What did India score?

India made 245/7 from 50 overs.

What did Pakistan score?

Pakistan reached 248/9 from the final ball of their 50 overs.

Who was Man of the Match?

Javed Miandad was Man of the Match after scoring an unbeaten 116 from 114 balls.

How many runs did Pakistan need from the final ball?

Pakistan needed four runs to win.

Who bowled the final ball?

Indian fast bowler Chetan Sharma.

What happened on the final ball?

Sharma attempted a yorker but delivered a full toss, which Miandad hit over midwicket for six.

How many runs were required from the final over?

Pakistan needed 11 from six balls.

Who was India’s top scorer?

Sunil Gavaskar made 92 from 134 deliveries.

Why is the match included in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs?

Pakistan were nine wickets down and needed four from the final ball of a tournament final against India. Miandad then hit a six, creating one of the most enduring moments in ODI history.