An even contest between bat and ball is a rarity now a days . Rewinding my tape eleven years back , I still remember the 1999 cricket world cup with fondness. Cometh the hour , came the man , only to be let down by poor running.
South Africa won the toss and sent Australia in . Mark Waugh was back for an early shower . Ponting fought for some time and was sent back soon. Lehmann followed the suit. It took a spirited Michael Bevan and Steve Waugh to forge a partnership to save Australia from capitulation. Adding 90 runs for the fifth wicket , Michael Bevan played an innings of caution. Pollock bowled his heart out, finishing with 5 wickets and Donald caused havoc claiming 4 wickets. Australia ended their struggle with 213 runs and the South Africans went in with their tails up.
The South African run chase started well , Gibbs and Kirsten put on 48 runs for the first wicket before Gibbs fell to Warne and from then on , it was a Shane Warne show. Kirsten followed Gibbs soon and the much celebrated South African batting lineup was exposed by some quality spin bowling. Hansie Cronje was unfortunate to be sent back for a duck. The ball spun heavily and looked to have clipped his boot , and the umpire raised his dreaded index finger after much appealing by Warne. South Africa were reduced to 53/3. A superb partnership between Kallis and Rhodes steadied the sinking ship as South Africa fought on to reach 150 by the 40th over. It was a classic battle between bat and ball, and as South Africa lost two quick wickets in succession and were looking down the barrel. Enter Lance Klusener , the big hitting southpaw . He led the resilience as Pollock hung on at the other end and the match inched towards a close finish . Pollock fell to Fleming and the tail was in.
Australians smelt blood ,but Klusener kept them at bay. With boundaries at important junctures, he made the wickets falling look incidental. Elworthy ran himself out in the 48th over , right after Boucher was castled by a Mcgrath yorker.16 runs was needed from 10 balls and Australians had the upper hand. Klusener smashed Mcgrath for a six and with 9 runs off the last over and Klusener on strike, it seemed gettable. Klusener unleashed two mighty blows that sent the ball to the fence and with 1 run to get from 4 balls, it was just a matter of time. The game looked like a Martin Scorcese thriller right from the beginning and with so many dramatic twists and turns it turned into Oscar material. Klusener spared the third ball.He pulled the fourth one down the wicket and took off when Alan Donald suddenly developed legs of cement and refused to budge . It was a mid-pitch disaster as Gilchrist removed the bails to send an emotional klusener and South Africa back home. The game ended as a tie and Australia went in due to superior net run rate.
South Africa will forever remember this day , and the world cup . Klusener waged a lone battle and was destined to take his rightful place in the South African cricket folklore until disaster struck. Australians displayed their tenacity as always , as the proteas earned the ‘chokers’ tag.
Tag Archive: cricket
History they say moves around in cycles and a vicious one at that. During the 1950’s and 60’s when the English crowd were happy at being entertained by 6 days of slow , classic test cricket little would they have predicted that the game would end in a matter of hours. By 1970 the Gods had had enough . Choosing the 1971 match between England and Australia as a potential target, the heavens opened up and ODI’s were born. It was Cricket Australia that came out as convincing winners and after almost 40 years of ODI cricket(10 years of domination at that) , they want to change their meal , add a bit more spice to it ,aka the split inning one day cricket. Citing predictability in the middle overs as a reason , the ACB is in a hurry to test the new format.
There have also been voices declaring the demise of Test cricket due to the advent of its more glamorous version, the Twenty-20. The radical change is imminent and it would take a fool, not to take notice of it. The last Ashes series between England and Australia seemed to suggest that audience were willing to lap up a good game of cricket, be it in any form, contrary to the opinions of the popular skeptics. India vs. Pakistan games is always touted to be big and they hardly disappoint. With burgeoning rivalries such as Pakistan vs. New Zealand and the ever present South Africa vs Australia, cricket seems to have few reasons to worry. A major misconception. With every successful and marketable game, there are bland ones that crop up .The over dosage of cricket is not helping the cause either with games being scheduled every alternate week. The ICC really needs to come up with a less taxing schedule if it wants to increase the longevity of the game. Increasing the number of test matches seem a good option, which is being advocated by many, but the adrenaline addicts as always seem to have a negative opinion about it. Test cricket is a real test of character, grit and determination and has long been used as a yard stick in the measure of competence. Chucking that out should never be an option.
Cricket has witnessed its second major upheaval with the rise of T20 which has led to the commercial beast, the IPL among others. ODI’s being played in the USA bears testimony to the fact that cricket is willing to stretch its boundaries and even reach out to people who labeled the sport as one played by ‘fools ‘ . The game is going through a slow transition and it is important that the sport doesn’t suffer from an overkill of ideas. Change is welcome, but not at the expense of game forms that have defined the sport in itself.
Memorable cricketing games have always been centered on great cricketing rivalries. India and Pakistan games have been colossal to say the least. The atmosphere is charged with emotions running sky high, with the occasion being celebrated no less than a festival. Heroes have been born, villains have been made and more than a million people applaud, another million cry. Played between two cricket frenzy and political rivals, such battles define the sport. Almost every cricketer acquires tutelage in grit and determination through Javed Miandad’s innings against India in 1986, capped by the six off Chetan Sharma.Who can forget the 1999 Chennai test between India and Pakistan? Sachin batted through pain to score one of the most sensational 100’s ever, only for the Indian tail to surrender meekly. Cricket was the ultimate winner and Chennai the ultimate beneficiary.
India’s rivalries with Pakistan ensued from a war that was fought between the two countries. The animosity between the two nations was there for the entire world to be seen at the 1999 World cup. India defeated Pakistan and ended their run with defeats to Australia and New Zealand. However, Pakistan went on to reach the finals. The two countries went on to face each other many a time in neutral venues, with the series being dubbed as the ‘Friendship Series’. During the 2003 World Cup, an Australian cricket commentator was quoted as saying “there is always great interest in India and Pakistan for they have fought three wars. There has been no war since 1971. So there is so much more excitement in this match”. A politician would charge the commentator for his words, but nevertheless it is hardly far from the truth. The 2003 World Cup encounter hardly misses the tea time talk between two cricket fans. Tendulkar took the game by storm, decimating the Pakistani bowling .The boisterous mirth that erupted across the stands when India defeated Pakistan then is still inexpressible.
The rivalries have been toned down a little bit with Pakistan touring India, and vice versa to play fiddle for stabilizing political relations between the two countries. By the time India faced Pakistan in the T20 world cup, many feared that the rivalry was nearing a placid end due to the number of games being played between the two. The games that followed were contrary to the assumptions. Ever as passionate as they were, India and Pakistan faced each other twice, with dramatic last over finishes on either occasions. India and Pakistan played the first ever bowl-out in the league stages. Misbah’s heroic innings in the finals almost won Pakistan the trophy, had it not been for Joginder Sharma’s stars. Joginder hardly raised any eyebrows after that, but he would go into the history books for that one wicket he grabbed of the last over.
Of late, the rivalry seems to have mellowed down a little bit, due to the number of competitive games being played between the two nations. Come world cup 2011, an India-Pakistan encounter will definitely prove that it was just a case of simmering and not toning down.
As published on www.cricketpulse.com at
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