The Thrill of a Rare Stalemate: ODI Tie Chronology
A stalemate in sports, particularly in an ODI, is an exceedingly rare circumstance, appearing in a mere 44 out of 4752 matches, or loosely 0.92% of games. On an ordinarily calm Friday night, Colombo witnessed this thrilling tie match.
The climax came down to two non-turning deliveries at the end of the seven-hour face-off at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, making it a deadlock for the first time in 149 ODIs held here.
Minutes before the outcome, Sri Lanka's hopes of victory seemed to vanish. A familiar script played out once more- victory insight, but the opportunity seized by India or fumbled by Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan captain, Charith Asalanka, through an almost miracle delivery, managed to hit his opponent right on the pads, posing an appeal for out and an unexpected turn in the game.
India was on the verge of accepting defeat when Arshdeep Singh, the last batter, decided to take a swing at Asalanka's delivery and failed to connect. The on-field umpire was convinced and declared it as out once again. The unexpected stalemate, while not a victory, gave Sri Lanka a much-needed break from their losing strike.
At the turning point of the contest, Sri Lanka had peaked, and this time their fate was orchestrated by their bowlers, particularly the spinners. For India, the controls were in the hands of KL Rahul and Axar Patel - two players attempting to secure their positions in the Indian ODI XI. A tense game, indeed, but one that demonstrated that even a stalemate in sports can be a nail-biting affair.
