Not Basketball

These 4 games could be the best sports events and matches ever shown on TV

With live sports coming to a halt due to the coronavirus, now is the best time for a bit of nostalgia. Many sports broadcasters have been playing old, classic matches from a variety of sports, be it hardwood classics for basketball tennis, cricket, football or anything else.

This can help fans to stay engaged with their sports during these times, especially when live sports betting sites like betcompare.com are also not offering odds because there are no events to bet on. Thus, we have some of the best sports matches to have been broadcast, across sports.

1992 NCAA East Regional Finals: Duke vs. Kentucky

The game is now simply known as “The Shot” representing the final play between a back and forth game between the two of college basketball’s Blue Bloods in #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils and #2 Kentucky Wildcats. The game may have ended with a Hail Mary full-court pass from Grant Hill to Christian Laettner for the final, and winning, basket of the game

Considered the greatest college basketball game of all-time by Sports Illustrated, USA Today and on many other lists of great sports moments, the 1992 March Madness tournament was highlighted by a game between #1 seed Duke and the #2 seed Kentucky in the East Regional Final to determine a spot in that year’s Final Four.

The scene looked like this: the defending champions Duke were down one point 103–102 after Kentucky’s Sean Wood banked in a running jumper. With just 2.1 seconds left in overtime and the length of the court to get the ball in and get a shot,  Grant Hill threw a one-handed pass nearly the length of the court where Laettner had sealed Deron Feldhaus of Kentucky.

When Laettner caught the ball, a feat in by itself, he had his back to the basket and knew he had time for one dribble. The 6-10 forward/center faked to his right, took that one dribble, turned over his left shoulder and launched a jumper from right above the free throw line. The ball splashed into the net as the clock hit zero for 104–103 victory.

“It still hurts,” said Woods. “We had goals and aspirations to win a national championship, and for it to get busted that kind of way, it was painful.”

Maybe it was destiny? Duke would go on to win the 1992 tournament over Michigan’s Fab Five featuring Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard.

“We beat a very determined and great basketball team,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski after the Kentucky game“It was an unbelievable game where kids made great plays.”

Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan, 2005 Champions League Final (Football) This game, known as the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ by Liverpool fans, featured one of the most stunning comebacks in the history of football.

Milan took a very early lead, within the first minute of the game through veteran and captain Paolo Maldini, and then hit Liverpool with a quick one-two later on in the half, as Hernan Crespo scored twice in five minutes for Milan to take a 3-0 lead into half-time, with both hands virtually on the trophy.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez made a switch at half-time, taking off Steve Finnan and bringing on Dietmar Hamann, and also changing to a 3-5-2 formation. This was the catalyst for the comeback, with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scoring a header in the 54th minute, Vladimir Smicer netting a long-range effort a couple of minutes later, and then, four minutes after that, Gerrard being fouled in the box by Gennaro Gattuso for a Liverpool penalty.

Xabi Alonso’s penalty kick was saved by Dida, but he scored the rebound to complete a fairytale comeback. The game eventually went to penalties, where the Liverpool keeper, Jerzy Dudek, making saves from Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko, for Liverpool to win their fifth European Cup title in the most dramatic circumstances.

India vs England, NatWest Series Final, 2002 (Cricket)

While scores of over 300 are par for the course in cricket today, they were a rarity back in the early 2000s. It was thought almost impossible to chase down anything over 300, and so, when England made 325 in their innings, on the back of captain Nasser Hussain’s first, and eventually, only ODI century, as well as Marcus Trescothick’s century, India looked down and out.

However, India got off to a rapid start, with the openers Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly sending the ball to the boundary frequently. After Ganguly got out for 60 runs in the 15th over, with the score at 106, there was a bit of a collapse, as India lost their next four wickets for just 40 runs, crumbling to 146-5.

That brought together two youngsters in Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, who picked up the pace and brought India close, before Singh perished on 69, with India still needing 90 runs to win. Kaif then took on the senior role, shepherding the tail while also striking boundaries when possible, and eventually guided India to a one-wicket win in the last over.

This was a momentous win for India, not just because they managed to chase down such a big score, but also because it was a rare win away from India, and it began their improvement in this facet of the game.

Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer, 2008 Wimbledon final (Tennis)

Federer’s Wimbledon final joust with Novak Djokovic from last year has a credible shout to be the best tennis match of all time, but this one, from almost 12 years ago, is just a smidge better.

Both and Federer were in their absolute prime, and faced off at SW19 for what would become a battle for the ages. The match went on for almost five hours, ending in near-darkness, as these two served up some of the best tennis you will ever see.

It had it all – a rain delay, saved match points (Federer saved two in the fourth set), and continued excellence (he lost the match despite hitting a jaw-dropping 89 winners). The final score? 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (6-8), 9-7 to Nadal, who won his first Wimbledon title as a result.

 

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