India, Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh participated in this tri-series held in Bangladesh. At that time, Bangladesh was an emerging allied group. Both India and Pakistan beat Bangladesh to reach the finals easily. India beat Pakistan in the first match of the best-of-three final. However, in the second match, Pakistan turned around brilliantly and leveled the series. As a result, the third and last final held in Dhaka on January 18, 1998 became the focal point of the final tension.

India won the toss and decided to field first in this match. Pakistan openers Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed attacked the Indian bowlers from the start. Both scored centuries on good batting wickets. Saeed Anwar scored 140 runs off 132 balls, and Ijaz Ahmed scored 117 runs off 112 balls. Pakistan scored 314 runs for 5 wickets in 48 overs, which was considered an almost impossible target then.

India’s openers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly started batting with confidence as they chased a huge target of 315 runs. Sachin quickly got out with 41 runs off 26 balls but Sourav kept one edge. He played one of the best innings of his career—124 off 138 balls. Robin Singh dropped to number three and scored 82 runs with extraordinary batting. These three together formed a solid foundation for India’s run chase.

But the match was not over yet. Pakistan bowlers suddenly picked up some quick wickets. The pressure of the match increased when captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Navjot Singh Sidhu were dismissed quickly. In such a situation, young Hrishikesh Kanitkar played with a cool head. He partnered with Nayan Mungiya to take the team close to victory. Mungia was run out but Kanitkar did not give up.

India needed 10 runs in the last over. Javagal Srinath crucially handed the strike to Kanitkar off Saqleen Mushtaq’s over. Kanitkar then hit a brilliant four off the penultimate ball to give India a memorable victory. This match is still remembered as one of the greatest and most dramatic finals in India-Pakistan cricket history.