Miandad's Last-Ball Six 1986: Cricket's Most Iconic Finish

On 18 April 1986, in the final of the Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah, Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a six off the last ball of the match to win the tournament for Pakistan. Pakistan needed four runs off the last ball to win — an almost impossible ask in limited-overs cricket. Sharma ran in to bowl a full-length delivery. Miandad had moved to the leg side to create room, swung hard and connected perfectly — the ball sailed over the midwicket boundary for six and Pakistan won by one wicket. The moment has been replayed and analysed countless times in the decades since.

Context and Drama

The match itself had been extraordinarily tense — Pakistan had collapsed and needed Miandad and the tail to get them home. Miandad had kept his nerve throughout a difficult final few overs. The fact that Chetan Sharma was one of India's better bowlers — not a part-timer bowling the last over — gave the moment even greater significance. Sharma was devastated; Miandad celebrated wildly. The footage of Miandad dancing and jumping in celebration became iconic in both Pakistan and India.

Legacy

Miandad's six is arguably the single most celebrated moment in Pakistan cricket history and is a defining image in the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry. It established Sharjah as a venue with an almost mythical status in subcontinent cricket. It also established Miandad's reputation as cricket's ultimate match-winner under pressure — a reputation already built on his many crucial innings for Pakistan. For Chetan Sharma, the delivery became the moment for which he is most remembered, despite a good international career.