If there is one thing which can bring a whole nation to a standstill; can be more engrossing than a Alfred Hitchcock classic and gripping than the finest of Greek tragedies, it has to be an India-Pakistan cricket match. It is the stage where heroes are immortalized while the villains are condemned for life.
Just to add more spice to this concoction - if that's still possible - the latest India-Pakistan match comes at a stage when the teams are eyeing a World Cup final berth. TOI takes a look at some of the classics down the years which are still fresh in every cricket fan's mind.
1996 World Cup quarterfinal in Bangalore
India decided to bat first in this high-voltage clash at home. Navjot Singh Sidhu laid the platform with a 115-ball 93 at the top of the order, but what would have been a competitive total was turned into match-winning one by an awe-inspiring assault by Ajay Jadeja (45 off 25 balls with two sixes and four fours). Jadeja waded into Waqar Younis as Pakistan's strike-bowler went for 40 runs in his last two overs.
Pakistan were still in the match with Aamer Sohail (55 off 46 balls) and Saeed Anwar (48 off 32 balls) going great guns. The occasion and the adrenaline got to Sohail as he lost the plot against Venkatesh Prasad going for an ill-advised slog and his team ultimately fell short by 39 runs.
1998 Independence Cup final in Dhaka
It was Pakistan's turn to bat first and they posted a massive total of 314/5 in 48 overs with centuries from Saeed Anwar (140) and Ijaz Ahmed (117). Sachin Tendulkar got India off to a flyer with 41 off 26 balls before Saurav Ganguly (124) and Robin Singh (82) took over. With 10 runs to win in the last over in pitch darkness it looked all over. Hrishikesh Kanitkar became a hero with one stroke - sweeping Saqlain Mushtaq to the fence to seal the three-wicket win with a ball to spare.
The evergreen clash is still in memories of the former Maharshtra batsman.
"The pressure was immense like in every final but this was India vs Pakistan. Fielding first helped me calm my nerves. The more closer we got in the chase the more my heart started pounding. The fear of losing began to rise before I went into bat. But once in the middle, I blanked everything out. My only focus was to watch the ball which was especially important because it was pitch-dark by the time the last ball was bowled," Kanitkar recalled.
1986 Australasia Cup final in Sharjah
Half-centuries by Sunil Gavaskar, Krish Srikkanth and Dilip Vengsarkar helped the World Champions post 245, batting first. Javed Miandad powered the chase with 116 off 114 balls with three fours and three sixes - the third of which came off the last ball of the match off Chetan Sharma. India took almost a decade to recover from Miandad's devastating blow.
Some other memorable Indo-Pak matches
1984 Asia Cup final in Sharjah - India posted just 125 but bowled out Pakistan for just 87 to win the final
1986 Benson & Hedges World Championship final - India won the one-sided contest by 8 wickets in Melbourne
1997 Independence Cup match in Chennai - Saeed Anwar's then world-record 194 condemned India to a 35-run defeat
2003 World Cup Super-Six match in Centurion - Sachin Tendulkar's stunning 98 set up India's 6-wkt win.
Source:timesofindia
Just to add more spice to this concoction - if that's still possible - the latest India-Pakistan match comes at a stage when the teams are eyeing a World Cup final berth. TOI takes a look at some of the classics down the years which are still fresh in every cricket fan's mind.
1996 World Cup quarterfinal in Bangalore
India decided to bat first in this high-voltage clash at home. Navjot Singh Sidhu laid the platform with a 115-ball 93 at the top of the order, but what would have been a competitive total was turned into match-winning one by an awe-inspiring assault by Ajay Jadeja (45 off 25 balls with two sixes and four fours). Jadeja waded into Waqar Younis as Pakistan's strike-bowler went for 40 runs in his last two overs.
Pakistan were still in the match with Aamer Sohail (55 off 46 balls) and Saeed Anwar (48 off 32 balls) going great guns. The occasion and the adrenaline got to Sohail as he lost the plot against Venkatesh Prasad going for an ill-advised slog and his team ultimately fell short by 39 runs.
1998 Independence Cup final in Dhaka
It was Pakistan's turn to bat first and they posted a massive total of 314/5 in 48 overs with centuries from Saeed Anwar (140) and Ijaz Ahmed (117). Sachin Tendulkar got India off to a flyer with 41 off 26 balls before Saurav Ganguly (124) and Robin Singh (82) took over. With 10 runs to win in the last over in pitch darkness it looked all over. Hrishikesh Kanitkar became a hero with one stroke - sweeping Saqlain Mushtaq to the fence to seal the three-wicket win with a ball to spare.
The evergreen clash is still in memories of the former Maharshtra batsman.
"The pressure was immense like in every final but this was India vs Pakistan. Fielding first helped me calm my nerves. The more closer we got in the chase the more my heart started pounding. The fear of losing began to rise before I went into bat. But once in the middle, I blanked everything out. My only focus was to watch the ball which was especially important because it was pitch-dark by the time the last ball was bowled," Kanitkar recalled.
1986 Australasia Cup final in Sharjah
Half-centuries by Sunil Gavaskar, Krish Srikkanth and Dilip Vengsarkar helped the World Champions post 245, batting first. Javed Miandad powered the chase with 116 off 114 balls with three fours and three sixes - the third of which came off the last ball of the match off Chetan Sharma. India took almost a decade to recover from Miandad's devastating blow.
Some other memorable Indo-Pak matches
1984 Asia Cup final in Sharjah - India posted just 125 but bowled out Pakistan for just 87 to win the final
1986 Benson & Hedges World Championship final - India won the one-sided contest by 8 wickets in Melbourne
1997 Independence Cup match in Chennai - Saeed Anwar's then world-record 194 condemned India to a 35-run defeat
2003 World Cup Super-Six match in Centurion - Sachin Tendulkar's stunning 98 set up India's 6-wkt win.
Source:timesofindia
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