As the build-up to the semi-final reaches a crescendo, here are 12 gems to whet your appetite prior to Wednesday’s blockbuster. It’s a trip down memory as we look back at some of the most high-profile and memorable matches between the arch-rivals down the years. (part II)
Pepsi Independence Cup Group Game, Chennai (21 May 1997) Pakistan won by 35 runs The 90s generation of Pakistani cricketers made it a habit of saving their best for their bitter rivals. None more so than Saeed Anwar, whose left-handed elegance brought the Indian bowlers to their knees frequently during that decade.
But Anwar himself would not have envisaged what happened on May 21, 1997. Opening the batting on a stifling summer day at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, the southpaw put every single bowler to the sword, lashing 194 chanceless runs in 146 deliveries. The magic 200-run mark glittered within touching distance, but hampered by cramps and having lost his body weight in sweat, Anwar finally succumbed. Sachin Tendulkar enticed him into playing a loose sweep that popped up to Saurav Ganguly at short fine leg. He may have not scored the first ever double-century in One-day Internationals, but Anwar departed with the highest score in the history of the shorter version of the game.
Fittingly, it would be Tendulkar who would break his record nearly 13 years later – scoring an even 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior. In reply, India were powered by a century from Rahul Dravid but the days when chasing 300 and beyond would become the norm hadn’t arrived yet. The hosts fell short by 35 runs as Pakistan continued their sub-continental dominance. But not for long. Silver Jubilee Independence Cup, Dhaka (18 January 1998) India won by 3 wickets
This was the game that finally allowed India to break free of the hoodoo that Javed Miandad’s six had placed over them more than a decade ago. The two teams had split the first two finals of the tournament and all depended on the last match. To a cricket-mad public that had been starved of the game’s marquee clash for so long before the previous year’s Independence Cup, it was an electrifying occasion.
Just like the previous year, Pakistan took first strike and just like the previous year, Saeed Anwar stroked a superb ton (Ijaz Ahmed got one as well) to take his side to yet another daunting total – 314. Game, set and match? Not on your life.
The Indian opening duo of Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar began like men possessed with the latter looking in especially destructive mood. He smashed 41 off 26 balls before yet another ambitious shot became his undoing. But Ganguly was in the zone and found an able ally in RObin Singh. The duo added 179 runs for the second wicket before India lost six for 56 as the game reached a defeaning climax.
In walked Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Keeping his head even as the madness raged around him, the left-hander stroked a few singles to ease Indian nerves before a boundary from the penultimate ball of the match sealed matters. India had beaten their arch-rivals, won the Independence Cup and broken the record for the highest successful chase in one-day international.
ICC Cricket World Cup Group Game, Centurion (1 March 2003) India won by six wickets Centurion’s SuperSport Park was the venue for this high-voltage World Cup clash. The Indians had always had Pakistan’s number in world cups – but history was far from the minds of the millions hooked to their television sets. Pakistan batted first and Saeed Anwar filled his boots one last time against his favourite enemy – scoring 101 glorious runs to help his side reach a competitive 273. The pitch was a belter but in Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and the fiery Shoaib Akhtar, they had bowlers capable of decimating the best batting line-up. But not on this day. This was the day Sachin Tendulkar got up on the right side of the bed (or the wrong side – depending on the way you look at it).
India got off to a flier courtesy of him and Virender Sehwag, Tendulkar taking Shoaib Akhtar for a six and two boundaries – the second a magnificent front-foot punch that sped straight down the ground for four – in one over. Even after Sehwag and Ganguly were dismissed in successive balls, the Mumbai maestro continued on his merry way, unfurling one magnificent shot after another. He fell two agonising runs short of what would surely have been one of the best one-day hundreds of all time – a screaming Akhtar bouncer taking his glove and ballooning to point.
With the target still nearly a hundred runs away, Pakistan sniffed a chance. But the Indians would not be denied on this day. Mohammad Kaif and then Rahul Dravid with Yuvraj Singh took their side to what ultimately proved to be a shockingly easy win. It was also the last time Saeed Anwar, India’s nemesis for so long, played against them. He retired from the game after Pakistan’s match against Zimbabwe three days later. India vs Pakistan ODI Series Match 1, Karachi (13 March 2004) India won by 5 runs Down the years, both sides have had their tragic heroes – players who took their teams to the brink but just could not drag them over the line. This time it was Inzamam-ul-Haq’s turn. This was the first bilateral series between the nations since the short three ODIs tour India had gone on in 1997. Understandably, the fans were slavering for a good contest. They got one. Batting first, India piled up a mammoth 349 in their 50 overs, thanks to a typically whirlwind 79 from Virender Sehwag and a fluent 99 from Rahul Dravid.
Indian fans retired for the break with a smile on their faces, convinced their batsmen had done enough to win the game. But Inzamam rose to the fore combining brute force with silken elegance like only he was capable of. In the company of Mohammad Yusuf (then Yousuf Youhana) – he took Pakistan to within striking distance with a stroke-filled 122 off only 102 balls. But as so often happens in high-pressure chases (a nod to South Africa and England here) – one wicket led to a few and when Ashish Nehra ran to bowl the last over – nine were needed. The left-armer was spot on the money – not giving any room to the batsman to swing their arms. It boiled down to six off the last over and visions of Sharjah circa ’86 floated before the fans’ eyes. Nehra ran in to bowl.
It was a full toss, just like Chetan Sharma to Miandad nearly two decades ago. After what seemed an eternity, the ball struck the splice off Moin Khan’s bat and looped up for a simple catch. Inzamam had been denied. India vs Pakistan ODI Series Match 5, Kanpur (15 April 2005) Pakistan won by five wickets Pakistan returned to India for a six match series next year and lost the first two games comprehensively. Leading pundits called it one of the weakest teams ever. It was a mistake. Pakistan, mercurial as ever, bounced back to even the series 2-2 with two to play. In the fifth game at Kanpur, India batted first – making an average 249. Not a winning total by any means, but still defendable. That was until Shahid Afridi strode to the pitch and wrought absolute carnage – the likes of which had rarely been seen on an Indian cricket ground.
45 balls was all it took for the imposing Pathan to smash the Indian attack to smithereens. 45 balls that broke the back of the bowlers and stunned them such that they succumbed not only in this game, but the next too. Afridi finished with 102 from 46 balls. Pakistan’s score when he got out? 131. From there on, it was a cakewalk for Pakistan as the rest of their batsman picked off the required runs with ease. They say even now if you enter the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur at night, you can still hear the echoes of Afridi’s shots from that day. Asia Cup 2010 Group game, Dambulla (19 Jun 2010) India won by three wickets By the time the new decade came round, it seemed people had tired of the clashes between the two rivals. Too many meaningless series had taken the sheen off what used to be on of the most eagerly-anticipated matches.
This Asia Cup game reignited all the dormant passions and brought back all the spice that had been lacked the past two-three years. Batting first, Pakistan notched up 267 – thanks to Salman Butt, the latest Pakistan leftie who found top gear when playing India.
The Indians were tied down in the beginning with Sehwag, hampered by an injury, scratching around for 10 off 31 balls before Abdul Razzaq put him out of his misery. Gautam Gambhir stuck around, nurdling, edging and sometimes smashing his way to 83. All the other batsman got starts as well – but kept getting out at crucial junctures. And so it was left to Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh to take India to victory. It was Raina who broke the shackles with a four and a six off Saeed Ajmal in the 46th over. But the real action took place at the other end where Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan got involved in a fracas. It was the latter who won out, smashing the Rawalpindi Express for a six as India brought down the required target to 27 from 18 balls. Another Ajmal over produced 11 before Raina hit Shoaib for another maximum.
India needed 7 runs from the last six balls. Raina took a single off the first and then was run out going for a panicky single. It came down to 3 runs from the last two balls. Bhajji needed only one. He swung his blade in a violent arc and smote Mohammad Amir for a huge six over midwicket. Game India.
