Twenty Magical Moments in India-Pakistan cricket

A cricket match between India and Pakistan often crosses the threshold of sports, and trespasses into the war zone, with defeat being unacceptable to both nations. The reasons of this rivalry are well known, and they are much deep rooted than a game of cricket, having started from the day of Independence itself. The following paragraphs will try to capture the memorable moments in this evergreen contest. I took the liberty of choosing matches since my birth (monsoon of ‘77), and have restricted the number of incidents to twenty. The honors were shared by the teams; statistically however, Pakistan has won more matches.

1978-79 Series: Kapil Dev makes his debut, Pakistan wins the series

      This was the debut series of Kapil Dev; Indian bowling had already got a new dimension when Sadiq Mohammed asked for a helmet in the first innings of the first test at Faisalabad. This was perhaps the first instance when an Indian bowler had dared to bowl bouncers, and the opposition batsmen were intimidated. The first Test at Faisalabad was drawn, and the teams traveled to Lahore for the second test.

Pakistan won the toss and decided to field. Zaheer Abbas scored 235 in the first innings, and Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan had a 192-run first wicket partnership in the second innings. In the fourth innings, Pakistan was given a target of 128 runs in 100 minutes. Majid Khan was ripping the Indian bowling apart, and Kapil Dev had to resort to the negative tactics of bowling outside the leg stump. Visibly frustrated, Majid Khan took the leg stump out, and planted it two feet outside its normal position, indicating the spot where Kapil Dev is going to bowl his next ball. The Lahore crowd roared with laughter, Kapil Dev responded back with a bouncer, and Majid pulled it for a six. Majid was eventually dismissed caught and bowled by Amarnath, but the damage was done. Pakistan achieved the target with almost 20 minutes to spare, leading the three match series 1-0.

The next and the last test were to be played in Karachi. Pakistan once again won the toss and decided to field. Sunil Gavaskar scored a century in both innings, but Vishwanath could muster a single run in two attempts, bowled out beautifully by Imran in the first innings for a duck. Javed Miandad scored a century in the first innings, but the end started to look similar. Pakistan were once again handed a target of 164 in 100 minutes. Imran Khan took Bedi apart, hitting him for two sixes. Bedi eventually conceded 33 runs in four overs, and Pakistan won the match with seven balls to spare.

This series would be best remembered for Kapil Dev’s debut, Sunil Gavaskar’s century in both innings of the third test (he achieved this feat two more times in his career), and close victories by Pakistan in the last two tests.

1982-83 Series: Imran turns destroyer

The next time India had traveled to Pakistan was at the fag end of 1982, for a six-match series. Pakistan had won the series 3-0, with each victory marked by fantastic bowling by Imran Khan. The best example set by him was in the second innings of the second test, when he took 8/60, driving Pakistan to an innings victory. Pakistan also went on to win the next two tests, and Imran took eleven and eight wickets in these two tests respectively. Imran eventually emerged with 40 wickets from the series, having decimated India single-handedly.

1984-85 Series: Mrs. G is no more

            India once again traveled to Pakistan in October 1984 for three tests and three one-dayers. Pakistan won the first ODI, whereas the first two tests were drawn. Notable performances in the first test included centuries by Zaheer Abbas and Amarnath, and a 6/46 by Azeem Hafeez in the first innings that resulted into an Indian follow-on. The second test was a run feast with centuries from Sandeep Patil, Ravi Shastri and Salim Malik. Mudassar Nazar got out for 199, while Qasim Umar scored 210. Only sixteen wickets fell in five days.

            The two teams traveled to Sialkot for the second ODI on 31^st October, and India were comfortably placed at 210/3 in 40 overs, with Vengsarkar batting on 94. It was the time when the news broke out that Mrs. Indira Gandhi; the Indian Prime Minister has been assassinated by her own security guards. The match was abandoned, and the Indian team traveled back to India without a ball being further bowled in the series. All in all, this series was a forgettable one, only contributing towards an interesting question in quiz competitions as to why the second ODI was abandoned.

Benson and Hedges World Championship 1985: Shastri drives India in an Audi

            This tournament was organized to commemorate the 150 years of European settlement in Victoria; it also saw the first day-night one-day international played in Melbourne. India and Pakistan contested the final, the first instance where no team among Australia, England and West Indies were in a major tournament final. Disgruntled, the local media dubbed the match as “bus drivers versus tram conductors”. Pakistan batted first, but was reduced to 33/4 very quickly, with Kapil Dev taking three of the first four wickets. Imran and Miandad started a fightback, but the rescue act was still not complete when Miandad was brilliantly stumped by Sadanand Vishwanath for 48. Pakistan eventually finished the innings at 176/9, marking the first instance in the tournament when India failed to bowl out any opposition.

            Ravi Shastri and Srikkanth started brilliantly, putting up an opening century stand, India winning comfortably at the end. Srikkanth was awarded the Man of the Match, and Ravi Shastri was the Man of the Series. The reward for Shastri was an Audi car, and the entire team took a ride to complete the victory lap.

Sharjah 1985: Imran threatens to kill, but India fights fire with fire

This was the first match of the Rothmans Cup; Pakistan won the toss and put India to bat. In no time, India slipped to 34/5, all five wickets being taken by Imran. Imran finished with 6/14, and India was bundled out for a paltry 125. While no one gave India any chance in the match, Pakistan also had an early collapse by losing five wickets for 41 runs, Imran incidentally being the fifth victim. It was a great collective effort from the Indian bowlers, and Pakistan was incredibly all out for 87, the last four wickets falling for just two runs. Imran Khan was justifiably the Man of the Match. The bowling figures of Imran remained as the best bowling performance in the desert venue for the next six years, and the match became a part of the India-Pakistan folklore.

Sharjah 1986: The last-ball six, dark ages begin for India

            Most of the time when Pakistan won the toss they put India to bat, and the final of the 1986 Australasia Cup was no exception. Imran however, might have been regretting his decision at one point, when excellent batting by the Indian top order saw them reaching 216 for the loss of just one wicket. Fifty-plus scores by Srikkanth, Gavaskar and Vengsarkar meant India reached a total of 245 in fifty overs, quite a challenging total in those days.

            Pakistan did not start off very well and were reduced to 110/4, and an Indian victory was on the cards. Pakistan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, but Javed Miandad made sure that the chase was on. It came down to the wire at the last ball, when Pakistan needed four runs to win off the last delivery.

            Miandad was facing Chetan Sharma, who knew that a yorker could seal Pakistan’s fate. The thinking was perfect, but the execution flawed. Chetan Sharma’s yorker actually emerged as a low full-toss that Miandad pulled viciously over mid-wicket for a six. The great batsman that Miandad was, this one shot remained as the golden moment of his career. Miandad finished the match on 116, but the last six runs were perhaps the sweetest for him. Chetan Sharma went on to score a century as well as a hattrick later in his career, but this one ball remained etched in the memory of every cricket lover on either side of the border.

            This match actually turned all the tables in all subsequent India-Pakistan encounters. India’s backbone was shattered; they were always scared of Pakistan, never truly believing in their own capacity to beat the neighbours. It took ten long years before Indians started to treat Pakistan as equals, but more of that later on.

1986-87 Series: Sunny shines for the last time

            Sunil Gavaskar had already announced that this would be his last test series, and he’d retire from international cricket at the end of the Reliance Cup, to be hosted jointly by India and Pakistan during October and November. The final of the Reliance Cup was scheduled to be played in the Eden Gardens that had not hosted any ODI till then. As a trial run, the second ODI of the series was played in Calcutta on 18 Feb 1987.

            Srikkanth scored a whirlwind 123, and assisted by Azhar’s 49, India reached 238 in the stipulated 40 overs. Pakistan started off at a slower pace, and when Manzoor Elahi fell for 14, Pakistan were reeling at 161/5, needing 78 off the last seven overs. An Indian victory was widely anticipated and the Calcutta crowd was going berserk, but Salim Malik had different thoughts in mind. An unbeaten 72 off just 36 balls by him saw Pakistan wrapping up the match with a single ball to spare.

            A fortnight later, Pakistan traveled to Ahmedabad for the fourth test, having drawn the first three. In course of the third session of the third day, Gavaskar steered Ijaz Faqih through the slips to bring up his 58^th run in the innings, and much more importantly, the ten thousandth run of his Test Match career. Sunil Gavaskar held the world record for most test runs for nine years starting 1983. The match however ended in a tame draw, with Gavaskar’s feat being the most memorable incident. Other notable performances included centuries by Ijaz Faqih and Dilip Vengsarkar.

            The teams traveled to Bangalore for the fifth test, with no result in any of the test matches till now. The pitch was a batsman’s minefield and a spinner’s paradise, the spinners having taken 35 of the forty wickets in the match. At the fourth innings, India was given a target of 221 runs with the ball spinning madly; only Gavaskar could stand his ground.

            Iqbal Qasim floats one in. It hits the dustbowl… pieces of the pitch fly off. Gavaskar stretches out his front pad defensively when the ball spins like a top and suddenly bounces up alarmingly. It’s a brute of a ball and a sure dismissal delivery. Not for Gavaskar. He just drops his gloves at the last minute clear of the line of the ball, and the ball rises up, beats the keeper and the slips and goes for 4 byes. The greatest shot of the series was the one that was not played at all.

Gavaskar goes for 96, where another 40 runs are required. The rest of the tail folds for 24, India loses the test, and the second highest of the Indian innings after Gavaskar’s 96 was 27 scored by Mr. Extras. India loses the match by 16 runs, Gavaskar’s swansong though not the happiest for India, is a must-see for anybody who thought batting was all about hitting leather with willow.

1989-90 Series: Tendulkar debuts, so does Waqar

            The first test of the 1989-90 series saw the debut of four players, Salil Ankola and Shahid Saeed being two of them. The other two, Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis, went on to become legends in their own right. During the second session of the second day, the two rookies came across each other, and Sachin took a Waqar bouncer on the nose. Seeing the bleeding nose soaking the shirt red, Azhar at the non-striker end then, advised Sachin to retire and he could come back later on, but the determined teenager responded with two words, “Main Khelega”. Sachin went out for 15 bowled by Waqar Younis, and the journey for both greats had begun. The match however ended in a draw.

            The third test at Lahore also ended in a draw, but was marked with double centuries from Sanjay Manjrekar and Shoaib Mohammed. Manjrekar’s score of 218 remained as the highest score by an Indian against Pakistan till it was bettered by Virender Sehwag almost fifteen years later.

            After all four tests ended in draws, the teams traveled to Peshawar for the first ODI. The match could not be played due to poor light conditions, and had to be abandoned. However, around the scheduled lunch time, it was decided to have a 20-over per innings exhibition match to appease the public. Pakistan batted first and put up 157 runs, quite a challenging total for a match played eighteen years before the first T20 World Cup. India could never match the pace, and was requiring 69 runs from five overs when Sachin Tendulkar walked in.

            Sachin started by having a go at Mushtaq Ahmed, hitting him for two sixes in one over, when Abdul Qadir walked up to him and said, “Bachchon ko kyon maar rahe ho? Hamein bhi maar dikhao”. Sachin duly obliged in the very next over by Qadir, hitting him for 6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6. Though an 18-ball 53 by Sachin could not avert an Indian defeat, but the king had announced his arrival, in style.

1991 Wills Trophy Final: Aaqib Javed destroys

            India won the toss and elected to field in the tri-series final in Sharjah, but Pakistan put up a challenging total of 262, thanks to a 171-run partnership between Zahid Fazal and Salim Malik. India started their chase, and was fairly placed at 47/1, when three subsequent deliveries by Aaqib Javed saw the backs of Shastri, Azhar and Tendulkar, all dismissed LBW. The faint doubts about the correctness of the decisions were soon dispelled when Aaqib Javed took seven of the first eight wickets, reducing India to 143/8, and still needing 120 runs to win. Pakistan eventually won the match by 72 runs, and Aaqib Javed’s world record spell of 10-1-37-7 stood for nine years, before being broken by Muralitharan, at the same venue and against the same opposition.

1996 QF: Miandad’s last match, the ghost is exorcised

            This was the second quarter-final of the Wills World Cup, the first knockout match for both the teams. Tension was in the air, India was relieved to know shortly before the match that Wasim Akram would not be playing, having ruptured his side muscles. India was on the slower side, and when Sidhu fell for 93, India were 168/3 in 38 overs. India was expected to reach a total of around 240 in 50 overs. But things took a different turn when Ajay Jadeja walked in to bat when India was 200/4. A whirlwind 45 by Jadeja in 25 balls, that included 18 and 22 in two successive Waqar Younis  overs saw India race to 287 by the end of the innings.

            Pakistan started off at a very good pace with an 84-run opening partnership between Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail. Sohail continued to rip the Indian bowling apart even after Anwar’s dismissal, and just after having reached at more than a run-a-ball 50, slashed spectacularly at a Venkatesh Prasad delivery. As the ball raced to the extra-cover boundary, Sohail openly lampooned Prasad, pointing his bat to the direction of the ball, as if instructing Prasad to go and fetch it. The next ball was right on the off-stump; Sohail attempted the same slash again, and was comprehensively beaten. Bowled. A charged-up Prasad gave Sohail quite a send-off.

            The rest of the Pakistan batting order could not do much. Miandad with his 38, tried to salvage some pride, but the innings was slow, and the pressure was mounting. Pakistan could never recover, and India eventually won the match by 39 runs.

            This was the match when the ghost of the last-ball sixer was finally exorcised, ironical that it had to come in the last ODI appearance of Javed Miandad. But this match reinstated the equality in subsequent Indo-Pak encounters.

1997 Independence Cup: Saeed Anwar scales the summit

            This was the Pepsi Independence Cup, organized to celebrate the fiftieth year of India’s independence. The sixth match was played in Chennai, on the 21^st day of May, conditions not exactly favorable for cricket.

            Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. The entire Pakistan innings rode on the shoulders of Saeed Anwar, who broke the world record of the highest individual ODI score. Anwar finished his innings at 194, having broken the 13-year old record of Sir Viv Richards. Anwar though happy about his performance, looked a shade disappointed at missing the elusive 200-run mark. Pakistan finished the innings at the mammoth score of 327.

            Saeed Anwar could not recover from the fatigue, and did not come out to field even for a single ball. Nor could the Indian batsmen recover, with only Rahul Dravid carrying the baton till he fell for 107. India finally fell 35 short of the target.

1997 Sahara Cup: Dadagiri

            This was the second edition of the annual bilateral series played in Toronto, Canada, the first one being won by Pakistan 3-2.

            This series is widely remembered for the dominance of Sourav Ganguly. Indian players won the Man of the Match awards in all five matches, Ajay Jadeja being the winner in the first match, and Ganguly in the subsequent four. This series also was the witness to the unpleasant instance in the post-lunch session of the second ODI, when Inzamam-ul Haq entered into a scuffle with a spectator, who allegedly had passed derogatory comments about him over a megaphone.

            Coming back to cricket, India won the five-match series 4-1, having won the first four matches. The series was low-scoring as expected, and Sourav Ganguly finished with 222 runs and 13 wickets in five matches.

1997 Lahore: Ijaz Ahmed decimates

            This was the third match of the series, both teams sharing the honors in the previous two, and as expected, the environment was charged in Gaddafi Stadium.

            Pakistan won the toss, and put India to bat, who could not do very well. India finally finished its innings at a modest 216, undone by a collective effort of Pakistani bowlers. Only Ajay Jadeja, with his innings of 76, could provide some resistance.

            A Pakistan victory was already looming large even before their innings had begun, but no one dreamt about the fashion in which the victory would come. Ijaz Ahmed killed the Indian bowling with an unbeaten 139 off just 84 balls, definitely one of the most brutal innings in the history of one-day internationals. The winning runs justifiably came from the bat of Ijaz Ahmed, in the form of his ninth sixer, which were hit on top of the ten boundaries. Pakistan won the match with an astounding 136 balls remaining, having scored the required runs at an average of 8.31 per over.

1998 Dhaka: The world record run chase

           

This was the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup, hosted in the Bangladesh capital, although this was organized shortly after the completion of twenty-six years of creation of the nation of Bangladesh.

            This tournament had three finals, much in line with the newly vaunted Australian way. India and Pakistan had won one each of the first two finals, and the third final would be a decider.

            Pakistan did a masterful display of batting, and with the help of centuries from Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed, reached a massive total of 314. Their partnership of 230 was a world record for the third-wicket stand. Till that day, no team had been able to chase such a big total, the previous record being held by Sri Lanka, when they successfully chased Zimbabwe’s 312 in the 1992 world cup.

            India started the chase on a positive note, but had an early setback, when Tendulkar fell for 41. But a big second-wicket partnership of 179 runs between Ganguly and Robin Singh meant the match was still alive. Shortly after Robin Singh’s dismissal for 82 in the 39^th over, the light began to diminish. Things started to look really bad for India, as the equations at that point of time were loaded in favor of Pakistan. While the umpires deliberated over the decision on the match’s future, Azhar was seen sitting on the pitch, simply refusing to let the match be stopped.

            Ganguly played a valiant knock of 124, but it really came down to the wire at the end, with India requiring three runs in the last two balls. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, a modest off-break bowler, would always be remembered for his swipe to the mid-wicket boundary in the penultimate ball, which sealed the victory for India.

1998-99 Series/Test Championship: Faltered run chase and perfect ten

            It was the first match of the Asian Test Championship. Pakistan was all out for 185 before the close of the first day, and India were placed at 147/2 shortly after lunch on the second day. Shoaib Akhtar, considered to be the fastest bowler in the world, swung one into Rahul Dravid, disrupting the woodwork. The crack in the wall is not something that can be seen everyday, and the wise men in the crowd agreed that this was a freak ball that perhaps can never be repeated. In came Sachin Tendulkar, crowd hopes were high, and along came the next delivery. Similar ball but slightly higher, with no difference in results. The experts sat up and took notice. It should be mentioned that Shoaib also dismissed Laxman earlier in the innings in an exactly similar way. Pakistan eventually won the match by 46 runs, an unbeaten 188 by Saeed Anwar in the second innings being the most memorable batting performance.

            Exactly 18 days earlier, the first test of the bilateral series was played in Chennai. The match was fairly low scoring, with none of the innings exceeding 300. Courtesy a second-innings century by Shahid Afridi, Pakistan were able to give India a target of 271 runs, with more than two days play left in the match. India lost early wickets, and Tendulkar walked in at 6/2. Wickets kept tumbling at the other end, but Tendulkar stood his ground, ably supported by Nayan Mongia. Mongia scored a gritty 52, and together the duo put on 136 runs for the sixth wicket. Halfway through the last session of fourth day, when India still needed 50-odd to win, Tendulkar started looking shaky. It was later learnt that it was the beginning of the back problem that kept Tendulkar out of cricket for many months.  The till now resolute Tendulkar started showing signs of impatience, trying to score more runs in boundaries. After having scored a classy 136, Tendulkar skied one off Saqlain Mushtaq, only to be caught by Wasim Akram. Only seventeen runs left to win, but all knew that the match was over. The rest of the tail folded for four runs, Pakistan won the match by 12 runs. Tendulkar’s defining legacy continued- genius who cannot win matches. In a rare display of sporting spirit, the Chennai crowd cheered the Pakistan team, who took a lap of honor.

            The teams then traveled to New Delhi for the second test. India dominated the large part of the test, having given Pakistan a fourth innings target of 420 runs. It was still the first session of the fourth day, so Pakistan had more than five sessions to score the runs, not impossible. But Anil Kumble had other ideas. When the seventh wicket fell for 186, shortly before tea, everyone realized that all seven wickets till now have been taken by Anil Kumble. The seemingly impossible task of taking all ten wickets in an innings was taking shape, but it had to be ensured that the other bowlers did not get any wicket. Harbhajan and Srinath duly supported Kumble, always bowling a defensive line, sometimes outside the off-stump. Kumble finally got his tenth wicket in form of Wasim Akram at 207, and got the victory for India. This was a world record. But it should also be remembered that Saqlain Mushtaq also took 20 wickets in the two tests.

2003 World Cup: Tendulkar entertains

            This was the 36^th league match of the 2003 World Cup, and India had never earlier lost a world cup match to Pakistan. The pitches at South Africa are much faster than the ones at the sub-continent, and any score in excess of 250 was seen to be defendable.

            Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat, and riding on a classy century by Saeed Anwar, finished at 273 at the end of 50 overs. The target was not too easy for India, and it was required that the openers start off on a good note to give the middle order the necessary momentum.

            Second over, Sachin Tendulkar faces Shoaib Akhtar. After the first three uneventful deliveries, Shoaib banged in one short and wide and Tendulkar was quick on the uptake. An open-faced slash saw the ball soaring over the thirdman boundary. The next ball, marginally on the legs, Sachin whips it to the backward square leg boundary. Last ball of the over, swings into Sachin, he moves in, punches it through the mid-wicket for four more. Shoaib was taken out of the attack immediately; India reached 50 in five overs. Halfway through the innings, Tendulkar had a hamstring pull, and was seen in considerable pain when running. Tendulkar eventually failed for 98, incidentally caught off Shoaib Akhtar himself, but Dravid and Yuvraj made sure that the effort did not go in vain. India achieved the target comfortably with 26 balls remaining.

2003-04 Series: Triple century, rare victories, and close finishes

            The first test was played at Multan, and Virender Sehwag could finally achieve what no India could ever do before. A triple century in test cricket. At the end of the first day, Sehwag was unbeaten on 228, having broken Manjrekar’s record for the highest individual score by an Indian against Pakistan. Sehwag eventually fell for 309 on the second day. At the third session of the second day, Rahul Dravid declared the Indian innings at 675, when Tendulkar was batting on 194. Tendulkar was dejected, and went on to make hinting comments to the media after the day’s play. There were also unconfirmed reports of an uncomfortable atmosphere in the dressing room.

Cricket however was not affected by this controversial decision. Pakistan could never come back to the match, followed on, and eventually lost by an innings and 52 runs.

            The honors of the next two matches were shared by the teams, with Dravid’s 270 being the high point of the rest of the series. First time India could win a test series in Pakistan. Followed by this, the teams had entered into a five-match ODI contest. In the first match played in Karachi, India batting first, had raced to 349 at the end of 50 overs, powered by a 57-ball 79 by Sehwag, and a fine 99 by Rahul Dravid. The chase was never easy, but Inzamam kept the flag high, falling for 122 when the score was 278, in the 43^rd over. It was a very close finish; Pakistan required nine off the last over. Nehra bowled beautifully, but the last ball required six runs with Moin Khan on strike. All of India prayed Nehra not to do a Chetan Sharma. But Nehra indeed delivered a low full toss, but luckily for India, Moin scooped it for a simple catch to Zaheer Khan.

The roles were reversed in the next ODI played in Rawalpindi, when Pakistan mustered 329/6, powered by an opening stand of 138 in just eighteen overs. For India, Tendulkar kept the chase alive, but chances were bleak once he fell for 141 when the team total was 245. India fell short by 12 runs. The rest of the matches were not as close. India won the series 3-2; VVS Laxman was the Man of the Series.

2006 U-19 World Cup: Anwar Ali rips through

            This was the final of the U-19 World Cup played in Colombo, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. At the end of the first half of play, India was all but set to lift the cup, having dismissed Pakistan for a paltry 109 in 41 overs. No one gave Pakistan a chance to come back to the match.

            Destiny however had other ideas. Indian reply hit rough road right from the start, when Gaurav Dhiman was bowled by Jamshed Ahmed in the very first ball of the innings. The next thirty minutes saw a lot of Indian batsmen on the field, at the end of eight overs, India were reduced to 23/7, Anwar Ali having taken five wickets. Jamshed Ahmed, in addition to bowling out Gaurav Dhiman, also bowled out Ravikant Shukla, the Indian captain.

            There was a brief glimpse of hope for India when Pinal Shah and Piyush Chawla added 39 runs for the eighth wicket. The target being very small, a scoreline of 62/7 was not looking completely out of order. But then thunderbolt again struck India, this time in the form of Akhtar Ayub, who took the last three wickets for nine runs. Anwar Ali was the deserving Man of the Match, the only consolation for India was the Man of the Series award to Cheteshwar Pujara.

2007 Johannesburg: India wins the T20 World Cup

            This was the final of the first T20 World Cup played in South Africa. None of the old Indian warhorses were playing; absentees included names like Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Kumble.

In the final, India had raced to 157 in twenty overs, thanks to a 54-ball 75 by Gautam Gambhir, and a late 16-ball 30 by Rohit Sharma. The score, challenging though, was not out of reach, and the tension was always on. Pakistan lost wickets in more frequent intervals, and at the end twenty runs were needed in two overs, and a finish was nail-biting indeed. At the end, when Pakistan needed six runs to win off four balls, Misbah-ul-Haq attempted a scoop when Joginder Sharma bowled at his legs, but ended up giving a simple catch to Sreesanth. A shot as memorable as the Miandad six, well almost, with roles reversed. India finally won the T20 Cup, with captain Dhoni all praises for his bowlers.

2010 Dambulla: The penultimate ball sixer

            This was the fourth match of the 2010 Asia Cup. The intense rivalry of the two teams was not visible in the crowd turnout; empty stands were greeting the two teams. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat, and finished with a challenging 267, helped by half-centuries from Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal.

            Indian chase was going on well, supported by half centuries from Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni, but it went down to the wire at the end. Six runs were needed of the last over, and Indian hopes suffered a big dent, when Suresh Raina was run out by Kamran Akmal in the second ball. Six runs needed now in four balls. Praveen Kumar took three of the first two balls that he faced; three needed off two balls now. Harbhajan Singh faces Mohammed Amir in the second last ball of the match, and hits it for a mighty sixer, Indian wins.

We all know that this is not the end of the rivalry, similar great performances will continue to entertain us in future also. I had a lot of trouble in choosing the events, and eventually had to use my own discretion. At the end, I refrained from choosing a few incidents, for a simple reason that they may be too trivial in nature for the average cricket lover. But it is a great feeling to see the reversal of roles from time to time, which gave the fanatics of cricket a sense of revenge on particular occasions. If Pakistan fell short of India’s 125, India also fell short of Pakistan’s 109. For a last ball sixer by Javed Miandad, there was a penultimate sixer by Harbhajan Singh. For every massacre by Ijaz Ahmed, Tendulkar had also decimated Pakistan in his own way.

            All said and done, cricket between India and Pakistan often ceases to be just a game. At the very least, it’s a matter of pride. It can also go to the extent of symbolizing war, as was the case during the 1999 World Cup encounter, when the two nations were battling in the highlands of Kargil. But in spite of all the misdirected emotions, good sense had always prevailed at the end, and the men in blue and green continue to entertain us.
-Debasish