Miandad vs More - The Kangaroo Leap

Defining Moments at ‪#ICCWorldCup‬

Miandad vs More and the kangaroo jumps!



This amazing incident from the 1992 World Cup marquee game between India and Pakistan is permanently etched in hearts of millions of cricket fans.

Miandad known for his antiques to provoke opposition players said something that riled up More.

He started mouthing from behind the stumps. This continued for a while until Miandad stopped the bowler (Sachin Tendulkar) and decided to have a word with More about it. 

Both exchanged words before complaining to the umpire about each other.

The very next ball ... Miandad plaeyed towards mid on, ran a bit but came back since Sachin had fielded and thrown the ball back to More. He was well inside but More still flicked the bails and appeared to appeal. This got Miandad annoyed and he did the now legendary "Kangaroo" jumps in kangaroo land (venue: Sydney Cricket Ground)

Absolutely hilarious to see but raised tension between the two teams on the night.

India went on to win the game comfortably. Miandad bowled by Javagal Srinath.

Eng v SA (Semifinal, Sydney, World Cup 1992)

Venue: SCG, Sydney (D/N match)

In what has to be termed as the biggest "joke" in history of one day cricket, the funny rain rule applied to matches then, turned an absolute cliff hanger into a farce! That's the best way to describe this incredible semi final between Eng and SA.

Both teams had it fairly easy enroute the semifinals, #England winning 6 of their 8 games while SA winning 5. #SA had just been readmitted to cricket after the #apartheid ban on them for 20 odd years. Hence, there were no expectations from them as such. However, under #KeplerWessels, this team rewrote history by appearing in the semis of a Cricket World Cup on debut!

On a gloomy SCG afternoon, SA won the toss and inserted England into bat. Considering forecast of showers later in the day, the #Proteas wanted to know their targets and revisions just in case (little did they imagine about the cruel realty that was about to strike them later that evening).

SA broke through the openers very  cheaply. #Gooch edged behind off #AllanDonald for 2 and #IanBotham was castled by Meryck Pringle for 17.

Eng 39 for 2.

#GraemeHick joined #AlecStewart and both of them started repair work of the English innings. Steadily they reached 100 before deciding to open up and take charge. #BrianMcMillan snapped their partnership claiming Stewart for 33 but Hick had settled down by then and he unleashed a barrage of strokes to push the England scoring ahead briskly.

Middle order support from #NeilFairbrother (28), #AllanLamb (19) and #ChrisLewis (18) ensured England breezed past 200 through small but quick partnerships. Hick was dismissed for a solid 83. But, it was #DermotReeve who stole the late order show for the #Poms. His quickfire 25 of 14 (including 3 consecutive boundaries in one over) ensured England reached a respectable 252 at the end of their 45 overs. (Match had to be shortened due to rain interruptions at the top leading to time overrun of the first innings cut off of 6:10 pm) 

At 5+ runs per over (in the 90s this was a big deal!!), the target was definitely stiff and everyone felt England would nail the game swiftly.  SA had different ideas though. Wessels and #Andrew Hudson made a breezy start before Wessels was claimed by Botham. #PeterKirsten, their best technical batsman, didnt last too long either and was out for 11.

SA 61 for 2.

Hudson was in fine nick though and he was just appearing to open up when he was trapped leg before by #RichardIllingworth for a well compiled 46.

SA 90 for 3.

It was now left to the younger generation of SA cricket to steer their ship. And boy did they march? #AdrianKuiper struck a super 36, #HansieCronje 24 and #JontyRhodes a breezy 43 to inch close to their target. A victory was in sight. Although all these youngsters eventually got out, the score was reading ..

SA 206 for 6

Very even contest.

#DaveRichardson and McMillan then put a very steady partnership of 29 to reach 231 in 42.5 overs. 
Victory in sight. 23 to win in 13 balls. You'd put your money on SA the way these two were batting. Gooch looking clueless and desperate for a breakthrough.

And then it happened... the heavens opened up.
Play had to be stopped due to the showers.
When play resumed, the rain rule was applied to adjust the time lost in the break.

The scoreboard read 22 runs to win in 7 balls.

Bah! the target was revised by just 1 run but 6 balls were taken off the batting team.

Then more drama .... 

The officials had actually made a mistake displaying 7 balls. They corrected the scoreboard again.
Now it read ....

22 runs to win in 1 ball

What? What the $#%@? 

Speechless.. there was a dead silence in the crowd. 

How on earth was that possible?

But, it was a rain rule being applied those days and had to be put into force.

What a shame! The game was tantalizingly poised for a humdinger of a finish and then this farcical rain rule spoilt it all.

Chris Lewis sent down the one delivery and McMillan tapped it down to long on for a single. The match had ended, technically.

No one was happy. The Englishmen knew victory was handed over to them by the rain rule. The Proteas knew it was pure divine intervention that didnt want them to win the game.

England qualified for the final against Pakistan at the #MCG.

SA returned home, bruised but not humiliated. They had put up an amazing performance throughout the tournament and were only robbed of a possible finals berth by rain gods. 

MOM: Graeme Hick

Watch the game highlights here...

Herschelle Gibbs - "You just dropped the World Cup Son"

"You just dropped the World Cup son..." Did Steve Waugh say that? Yes or No .. the debate will go on but it was undoubtedly the defining moment in the 1999 world cup. IF Steve Waugh would have gone at that stage, Australia would have never qualified for the semi finals and SA would have had the best chance to win the world cup. As luck would have it, the best fielder in the side (alongside Jonty Rhodes) had to drop this sitter.

The score card should have read like this
Steve Waugh caught and dropped Gibbs b Kluesner 52

Waugh went to score his typical gritty century and bail Australia out of this game to set up semifinals against? You guessed right... SA again. What happened at Birmingham in the semis? ... is part of cricketing legend!

Underestimate Pakistan At Your Peril This #CricketWorldCup2015

The most unpredictable team of all time! by a distance.
Amazing talent, extraordinary performances on one day and even minnows feel proud on others. Such has been Pakistan's journey over the last 40 years of World Cup one day cricket.

From being arguably the best bowling unit (talent wise) ever to some of the most abject defeats in the World cup (notably - loss to Bangladesh in 1999 and to Ireland in 2007). You cannot predict which Pakistan side will land up on the field on a given day.

Boy, but if you give them a sniff and they are in the zone ... they can really nail you into submission with their audacious batting strokeplay or deadly bowling spells (as Australia found out in their league game in 1999 and NZ in that heartbreaking semifinal of 1992).

So how does this 2015 Pakistan World Cup squad look like?
Does it have the firepower to go all the way?

Batting
A lot inexperience in their batting ranks. A lot of youngsters roped in Ehsan Adil, Shehzad, Sohail, Maqsood. This could be their weakest link since conditions in Australia and NZ would favor seamers and teams from sub continent generally struggle here. Having said that, the "unseen" packages may just turn out to be surprise packages for other teams (India will their first opponent .. what a mouth watering clash scheduled for 15th Feb 15 at the Adelaide Oval)
A lot will depend on the experience of Misbah and Younis Khan to carry these youngsters when settting or chasing targets.

Bowling
The traditional powerhouse of this team.
Emergence of Riaz and Irfan is a good sign but still lack of experience could spell their doom. Just don't see anyone to guide these seamers in tight situations.
Spinners will be lead by Hafeez and Afridi and they should do well.

All rounders
Plenty but its just that they may or they may not. You may see a blinder from nowhere (remember Inzamam's 60 from 37 from nowhere in 1992 against NZ to snatch victory in the end-game of that match?) but you will also see timid failures along the way (like the World Cup final 1999 against Australia)

All in all, a very inexperienced side and definitely not the favorites by a long way. May be that could be a boon in disguise. Who thought Imran Khan's team would win that 1992 in Australia world cup after an atrocious start to their campaign then. The venue this time? ... ... Australia again! Do NOT count them out.

Team Pakistan for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
#Misbah-ul-Haq
#AhmedShehzad
#EhsanAdil
#HarisSohail
#JunaidKhan
#MohammadHafeez
#MohammadIrfan
#SarfrazAhmed
#ShahidAfridi
#SohaibMaqsood
#SohailKhan
#UmarAkmal
#WahabRiaz
#YasirShah

#YounisKhan

Team Australia for World Cup 2015 - Best Bet To Win The Cup?

Obviously the firm favorites to win the cup.
No.1 ranked in ODI, hosts and well-balanced side.
This Australian side looks equipped to go the distance!

It must be said that this team is a pale shadow of the great Aussis teams of 90s and 2000s. They don't have a legendary batting lineup including Gilchrist, Ponting, Waugh, Hayden, Bevan nor do they possess arguably the best balanced bowling attacks of all time (Warne, Mcgrath, Gillespie, Lee). This is a team reinventing itself through new talent.

However, the Australian cricket structure is such that it ensures new talent comes up all the time. Take the case of #GeorgeBailey who is also their current #T20 captain. With limited experience, he has catapulted to great heights in the shorter formats of the game. Many other names including Doherty, Cummins, Hazlewood are already being termed as the #RisingCricketStars of the world !

Batting
Looks solid all the way through with low or no chinks in that armoury.
They have the firepower in Warner, Watson, Maxwell, Finch.
Consistent and steady middle order in Clarke, Bailey, Smith, Marsh
More than useful tail - Haddin, Faulkner, Johnson

Bowling
If at all, this seems to be their weak link.
New seamers in Hazlewood, Cummins, Faulkner and Starc are not experienced enough. Seasoned campaigners like Johnson will have to guide them smartly especially as the tournament moves in the elimination stages. Spinning dept lacks depth too. Doherty, Clarke and other part timers may not be very impactful although its going to be about the seamers in the Australian-NZ summer!

All Rounders
This is their big strength. Great combination of batsmen who can bowl and vice versa. Watson, Clarke, Smith, Faulkner can turn matches on their batting or bowling skills alone.

All in all, this Aussie side looks well set to dethrone India and regain the World Cup crown, unless they fluff up in important games or some match winning innings/performances snatches a game or two away from them!  

The Final 15 in the Australian squad for #ICCWorldCup2015
#Michael Clarke
#George Bailey
#Pat Cummins
#Xavier Doherty
#James Faulkner
#Aaron Finch
#Brad Haddin
#Josh Hazlewood
#Mitchell Johnson
#Mitchell Marsh
#Glenn Maxwell
#Steve Smith
#Mitchell Starc
#David Warner
#Shane Watson

Pak v NZ (Semifinal, Auckland, World Cup 1992)

Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
A batting superstar has arrived .... 
Best way to describe this match.

Against all odds Pakistan managed to scrape through to the semi-finals of this edition's #WorldCup semifinals (Remember the 1 point they gained from the hopeless performance against England, 74 all out, allowed them to move ahead of Australia and West Indies). Their opposition? The deadly in-form team, New Zealand. Unbeaten until their last league game (ironically their only loss came at the hands of Pakistan).

Stage was set. Eden Park, Auckland all set to stage its first ever World Cup semifinal game. The home team buoyant and clear favorites going into this game. But, as they say ... take Pakistan team granted at your own peril as the #Kiwis were to soon find out.

On a sunny March morning and a jam-packed stadium, NZ captain #MarttinCrowe won the toss and elected to bat first. Runs on the board was the clear plan. #MarkGreatbatch and #JohnWright opened the innings. Greatbatch was is great form and had blasted oppositions into submission during the course of the tournament. Danger man truly. But, the Pak bowlers had done their homework brilliantly. They pinned him and Wright by cramping them for room and no width to free their arms. #AquibJaved and #WasimAkram were awesome in that first spell. Aquib castled Greatbatch on 17.

#MushtaqAhmed then took over and had Wright and #AndrewJones caught to reduce NZ to 87 for 3. This is when captain Crowe and #KenRutherford took charge. Slowly, they built the innings before unleashing a counter-attack on the Pak bowling. Crowe's brilliant run in the world cup continued. He scored a fluent 91 before being run-out in the end stages of their innings.



Rutherford's steady 50 and some late blows for the Kiwi tail enabled them to score a very competitive 262 for 7 in their stipulated 50 overs. Wasim was the pick of the bowlers with an effective 2 for 40.

More than enough, you'd think as a Kiwi fan then.
Considering Pak's fallibility chasing scores or Kiwi tactics during the world cup to keep shuffling bowlers quickly were all stacked against Pak. Will they pull it off or would this be an end to their on-off campaign?

Then drama. Captain Crowe who suffered cramps and dehydration wasn't fit to take field. A big blow considering his audacious tactics and skill captaincy had brought them this far. His deputy John Wright certainly wasn't an inspirational figure on the ground but had to lead his side.

#AmeerSohail and #RameezRaja opened the innings for Pakistan. As usual #DeepakPatel, the offie opened NZ's bowling. This move to open with a spinner had brought them huge success all throughout. The trend continued when he had Sohail caught by Jones.

Pak 30 for 1.

Captain Imran promoted himself at No.3 to show his men how to lead from the front. He and Rameez slowly pushed things along. Plan was clear. Build and hold wickets for a late onslaught. They added 54 before Rameez fell to #WillieWatson. That brought in the wily old fox #JavedMiandad to the crease. Both him and Imran took it forward by adding 50 runs before Imran fell to #ChrisHarris.

Pak 134 for 3.

However, all this build-up was leading to required run-rate blowing up. Something had to give in. To add to their woes, Mr. Dependendable, #SalimMalik fell cheaply to #GavinLarsen reducing Pak to 140 for 4. 

Will Javed pull off a miracle with youngsters to follow? or Kiwis choke them? 

What Auckland and rest of the world witnessed after that was sheer magic!

In walked a 22 year old tall and burly youngster #InzamamUlHaq
With Javed at the other end, he unleashed an extraordinary counter attack on the Kiwis. This type of audacious strokeplay and power was never seen before!

His breathtaking hitting stunned the Kiwis. They were clueless. They were bamboozled. 

Javed held his end and encouraged #Inzi (as he later popularly came to be known) to play one of the finest match winning innings of all time. His 37 ball 60 became part of cricket folklore.

But there was still some drama to come. Inzy was run out trying to steal a single. Wasim was castled by Watson raising Kiwi hopes yet again. It needed someone to put the finishing touches from either side. #MoinKhan did it for Pakistan. Again, with Javed's astute presence in the middle.

His massive six and couple of boundaries deflated the Kiwis and Pakistan romped home with an improbable win. Amazing scenes at the Eden Park as Pakistan team engulfed Moin and Javed. 

Heartbreak for the Kiwis and more so for Martin Crowe. A golden chance to reach the finals had been lost.

But, the game belonged to the gentle giant, Inzamam.
A superstar had arrived ... in style!

MOM: Inzamam Ul Haq

Watch highlights here....

Ind v Pak (Group Match, Centurion, World Cup 2003)

Venue: Supersport Park, Centurion, SA

Huge game!!
Traditional rivals at it again ... in a #WorldCup match.
Build up to this game was big. Pakistan bowling vs India batting.
It was predicted that if Pak batting clicks, they win. If Ind bowling clicks, they win. Simple as that.
But, Ind v Pak matches are never simple. right?

This match was more important for Pakistan than India because their victory/loss here would determine their slim chances to proceed ahead in the tournament. India was sitting in a better position but a win here would ensure their safe passage to the next phase.

Many battles were being looked forward to. Shoaib v Sachin, Waqar v Sehwag, Zaheer v Anwar, Kumble v Inzamam. It reached a feverish state prior to the game. Everyone just wanted the game to start ..... rather explode!!

On a wonderful Centurion morning, #WasimAkram, Pakistan captain, won the toss and elected to bat first. A good decision considering the pressure involved. #Saeed Anwar and #TaufeeqUmar started the Pak innings steadily. Mixing caution and aggression, they touched fifty under 10 overs without any damage done. Then #ZaheerKhan struck, uprooting Taufeeq stumps. First blood for Ind. #AbdulRazzaq, promoted up the order, to up the ante didnt stay for too long edging one behind off Nehra for 12. 90 for 2.

In walked #InzamamUlHaq, the best best Pakistan batsman. With Anwar in full flow by then, Pak would have imagined both of them to build a big partnership, Instead, the inevitable happened!! Inzy was run out (any surprises there?). A complete miscommunication and poor running cost him dearly. His reaction aftter the dismissal said everything. Frustration, disappointment and anger .. all in one. Indians were delighted. Pak 98 for 3.

#YousufYouhana joined Anwar and together they started their repair work. Answar crossed his individual fifty and Youhana was just about to let loose when #JavagalSrinath struck getting him to hit one down Zaheer's throat.  Pak 171 for 4.

Saeed Anwar completed a beautifully crafted century shortly after. he had played some delightful strokes in his innings holding one end strongly. Just as he was about to open up, #AshishNehra castled him. Pak 195 for 5. In spot of bother.

The extremely unreliable #ShaahidAfridi, follwed suit leaving Pak struggling to up the tempo in the end overs. Pak 208 for 6.

#RashidLatif though had different ideas. He unleashed his dogged style of batting and pushed the scoring quickly along with #YounisKhan. Both pushed the score past 250 before Younis was caught behind off Zaheer. Pak 256 for 7.

In walked Pak captain, #WasimAkram. He took charge and unleased some lusty blows in the final over to give the Pak total a mighty look. At the end of their innings, Pak 273 for 7. A good score considering the pressure and tension of an Ind v Pak game.

Can India pull this off? or Pak will walk away with an easy win?

In walked #SachinTendulkar and #VirenderSehwag to open Ind innings. The best opening pair vs the best pace attack on display (Shoaib, Waqar and Wasim). A contest was on the hands. Both batsmen knowing the required rate was high started pushing score quickly. Sachin was extremely severe on anything short of length. His #uppercut six of Shoaib is part of cricketing folklore now. What an amazing shot. The commentators were spell bound, the spectators were wow and Pak bowlers zapped by this onslaught. #WaqarYounis met the same fate the following over. 50 of the team was brought up in 5 overs. Tremendous start!

In desperate search for wickets, Waqar finally broke through Sehwag getting him to hit a full-length delivery to short cover. He trapped Ind captain #SouravGanguly #lbw the very next ball. Great fightback. Ind 53 for 2.

India promoted #MohamadKaif to number 4 to stem the rot and not risk another key wicket. A great decision since he played perfect foil to Sachin's aggression. At the other end, Sachin was most lucky to be dropped by Razzaq off Wasim. he continued to attack the Pak bowling unit though. 

His assault on Wasim and Afridi derailed the Pak camp completely. The genius at work showed his team how to do it? However due to the #Centurion heat, he developed cramps in legs and asked for a runner, Sehwag it was. His concentration seemed to have been lost and he fell to a Shoaib short delivery. What an innings he had played? 98 for 75 deliveries. A dream effort and one of the greatest ODI knocks ever seen. Ind 177 for 4.

The impact of Sachin's assault on Pak bowlers was such that the run pressure was off. All it now needed was someone to stay put and complete the chase. With #RahulDravid and #YuvrajSingh the crease, winning the game was no biog deal. Yuvraj played his usual aggressive stuff while Dravid supported him beautifully. India crossed the line with ease. A comfortable 6 wicket victory.

#RobinJackman, the presentor for Man of the Match, said "Thank you Sachin for such a wonderful innnings. Take a bow".

With this win, India was more or less assured of the next phase (#SuperSixes) while pakistan had to work their way around the group to move ahead.
  
MOM: Sachin Tendulkar

Watch the video highlights of this game here:

Can India's 15 Man Squad Win The Cricket World Cup In 2015?

BCCI recently announced a fifteen member team for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in Australia-New Zealand in Feb-Mar 2015.

The biggest question would be: Can this team win the cup?

Sadly, DONT think so.

Unless Captain #MSDhoni finds that magical touch of his to turn this into another victory campaign from 2011. The defending champions look well short on experience, skills and adaptability to Australian and Kiwi pitches and conditions.

Although they travel and play a lot of #OneDayCricket and T20 cricket all over the world, just don't see them delivering the goods this time.

Bowling would be the biggest concern, especially quicks. Going by their performance in the on-going Test match series against Australia (they have leaked 500+ in almost every innings they have bowled). Shami, Bhuvaneshwar, Yadav, Ishant ... well not very sure there is a go-to bowler in case Dhoni needs to!

As regards spin, Ashwin should be OK but no support other than part timers like Jadeja and Raina will hurt badly. Anil Kumble has been critical at picking up just one specialist spinner and feels we should play to our strength.

Batting looks solid and there lies the best chance to win some games. Kohli, Rahane, Vijay have played good hands in this test series and will do them a lot of good in the one dayers. Not to discount Dhoni and Raina who can change games on their head in 20-30 min at the crease.

Fielding should be OK with fresh and young legs but the all-rounder mystery has hounded Indian cricket since Kapil Dev hung up his boots. Where can we get them in India?

All in all the 1983 and 2011 champions would find the going tough in this world cup. Australia, South Africa, Pakistan with their strong bowling units seem favorites to win. What do you think?

Here is the Indian squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
 - MS Dhoni (capt & wk)
 - Shikhar Dhawan
 - Rohit Sharma
 - Virat Kohli
 - Ajinkya Rahane
 - Suresh Raina
 - Ambati Rayudu
 - Ravindra Jadeja
 - R Ashwin
 - Akshar Patel
 - Ishant Sharma
 - Mohammed Shami
 - Umesh Yadav
 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar
 - Stuart Binny

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Ind v Eng (Bengaluru, ICC World Cup 2011)

Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

What climax? What drama? What a game of cricket?
Spellbinding stuff from both teams in this very high scoring game!

On paper, the Indian team appeared much stronger and expected winners of this contest.
A beautiful afternoon in the garden city and #MSDhoni, the Indian captain won the toss and elected to bat.

#Sehwag and #Tendulkar started in blazing fashion and put on 46 until Sehwag was prized by #TimBresnan for 35. #Gambhir joined Sachin and both of them tore into the English attack. Sachin was severe on #GraemeSwann, the premier English spinner and notched up his century. When he fell for a superb 120, score read 236 for 3 in 38.2 overs.

This meant an ideal launch pad for the Indian middle order to unleash their guns in the last 12 overs.
#YuvrajSingh 58 and #Dhoni 31 launched an assault of epic proportions to propel India past 300 shortly. When Dhoni was claimed by Bresnan at team score of 305 in the 46th over, India was looking well beyond 350 as target.

However amazingly, they just imploded through poor strokeplay and tight disciplined bowling by the English bowlers towards the end. Final score India 338 all out in 49.5 overs. Bresnan starred with a 5-for, mostly responsible to hold that total back.

One bowl short of 50 overs. Will that one unplayed delivery cost Indians dearly?

A massive target none the less. England needing around 7 runs per over from the start to chase it down. Looked real tough. However to their advantage the Chinnawamy stadium is extremely flat and docile for batting.

England captain #AndrewStrauss and top batsman #KevinPietersen opened England's innings in style pummeling the Indian quicks to all parts of the park. They reached 68 in under 10 overs before Pietersen was caught and bowled by #MunafPatel. #JohnathanTrott followed soon after for 18, scoreline 111-2 (16 overs). Runs were under control but they needed to ensure wickets were not lost too soon.

#IanBell joined his captain and slowly they started dominating the Indian bowling. Strauss was severe on the seamers and equally attacking against the spinners. Ian Bell found his touch too. In no time, they had crossed 150, then 200 and 250 as well (under 40 overs). Strauss completed a brilliant hundred to match Sachin's century while Bell completed a wonderful supporting fifty.

At 281 in the 43rd over (and on course for a facile victory), tragedy struck for England. In desperation, Dhoni threw the ball to #ZaheerKhan, the master of reverse swing, and he produced a magical spell to claim Bell and Strauss in one over followed by #PaulCollingwood soon after.

Suddenly, the target seemed to be slipping away from England's grasp. However there was still some twist left in the tale. Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan, who had bowled wonderfully, produced some massive sixes against #PiyushChawla to get things closer. When #AhmedShahzad smashed Munaf Patel for six over long on in the last over needing 10 runs to win, England sniffed victory again.

Last ball, 2 runs to win.
Munaf to Swann
A good yorker, dug out by Swann towards mid off and scamper for a run.
Scores tied
India 338 all out
England 338 for 8 

Amazing scenes in the dressing rooms. England felt they should have won. India thought they shouldnt have been stretched this far after putting up a mammoth score.

All in all, a tremendous result.
Cricket was the winner in this one!

MOM: Andrew Strauss (As Nasser Hussain put it during the presentation party - very few innings can match, let along surpass, a Sachin Tendulkar hundred and Strauss did just that today!)

Match Highlights:

India vs Sri Lanka (World Cup Final 2011)

(ICC 50 overs a side ODI - World Cup)
Mumbai, 2nd Apr 2011

The two most powerful teams of the tournament (considering the sub continent conditions) met in the final of World Cup.

Some confusion at the toss, coin spun twice .. Sri Lanka won it and elected to bat.

 

After a stuttering start (#ZaheerKhan bowled three straight maidens at #UpulTharanga before claiming his wicket), Sri Lanka steadied through #Dilshan and captain #KumarSangakkara.

 

Dilshan was bowled by #Harbhajan with team score on 60, bringing in #MahelaJayawardhane.

He went on to play one of the most memorable knocks in one day cricket that day with a scintillating 103*. Pure elegance, class and his counter attacking at end of their innings was awesome!

With due support from Sanga, Saamrweera, Kulsekhara and Perera, Mahela posted a very formidable 274 runs on the board for India to chase. Remember, as a thumb rule in finals, runs on the board are best. Chasing means pressure especially with the stakes so high.

India began disastrously. #VirenderSehwag was trapped leg before by #LasithMalinga second ball. #SachinTendulkar playing his last world cup followed soon after edging one behind again off Malinga. Mumbai was dumbstruck. At 31 for 2, and the opening blaster pair out, India were in trouble.

The young brigade of #GautamGambhir and #ViratKohli steadied the ship with useful partnership of 83 runs before Kohli fell to Dilshan.

In walked #MSDhoni, ahead of the in-form #YuvrajSingh. A move that surprised experts, crowd and most probably SriLanka too. He along with Gambhir pulled the game away from Sri Lanka to a position of certainty and authority. By the time Gambhir fell for a superb 98, the writing was on the wall.

Befittingly, it was Dhoni who hit the winning shot (a massive six over long on) to lift the cup for India. His stunning and authoritative 91* ensured a facile win for India. Their 2nd world cup!!
The cup was dedicated to the #LittleMaster of course who had played 6 world cups without any success!

MOM: M.S. Dhoni, India

Watch highlights of this game on the video link in this post.

Ind v Aus (3rd Test Match, Chennai, 2001)

Border Gavaskar Trophy
Venue: Chennai

Did you watch this one? Am sure you were spell bound!
NOT FOR THE WEAK HEARTED surely.

On the back of the greatest test match of all time in Kolkata, came this one from Chennai. Ind v Aus 3rd Test Match. With series levelled at 1-1, the final frontier was at stake for Steve Waugh's men.

Never did they imagine this situation (almost dreaming of lifting the #BorderGavaskar Trophy at the end of Day 3 in Kolkata to fighting out with a resurgent Indian team at Chennai). More so, because Chennai favoured Indian spinners better than legendary #ShaneWarne whose record against India remained poor.


Drama started from Day 1. From a very dominant 360 for 2, Australia collapsed to 391 all out including a very embarrassing #handlingtheball verdict against #SteveWaugh. The Indians strode out and on back of a magnificent #SachinTendulkar century amassed 526. A good lead on a fast wearing track considering India would need to bat fourth.

In the second essay, the Aussies were boweld out for 289 giving India needing 155 runs to win the already historic test series. Or there was another twist in the tail. There certainly was!

Chasing the score and comfortably placed at 100 for 2, the drama began. Sachin was caught in the slips by a beauty from #JasonGillespie. Dravid and Ganguly perished soon after but it was the ever reliable #VVSLaxman (looking ominous on 66) whose wicket made things extremely interesting at 135 for 6. Another 20 still to get.

Wicketkeeper batsman #SameerDighe and #AnilKumble pushed and prodded around for a while before Mcgrath claimed two more wickets to make it 150 for 8. What climax! In walks #Harbhajan with 5 runs to get. A big appeal against Dighe and he survives a leg before shout! Harbhajan playing all over the deliveries making the game interesting every ball.

Mcgrath doing all his best to dislodge the batsmen but with very less runs to defend, couldn't experiment much. As luck would have it, his stinging yorker was dug out by Harbhajan for a couple of runs to hand India a glorious, magnificent and legendary series win over Australia.

Final score line: India 2 - 1 Australia
The Final Frontier remains to be conquered!

Aus v Ind (2nd Test Match, Sydney, 2008)

Venue: SCG, Sydney

From the most memorable game of cricket to the most disgraceful one. This one comes from Sydney 2008.

The much vaunted series of 2007-2008 started off with Australia steamrolling India at #MCG easily and going 1-0 up in the series. The teams then met in the #NewYearsTestMatch at Sydney. India had a point to prove to beat Australia on their home soil and restore parity in the series.

What transpired over the next five days was embarrassing, ugly and disgraceful between the two teams including
 - The Symonds-Harbhajan #Monkeygate episode
 - The Benson-Bucknor umpiring on Day 5
 - The aftermath of the cricket test where India planned to boycott remainder of the series
 - The court trials on Monkeygate episode ... ouch! are we talking #cricket here?

What all this also did was overshadow some scintillating performances in the game from both sides
 - Symonds' matchwinning scores (163 and 61). He was MOM.
 - Superb hundreds from Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman in first innings
 - Maginificent hundreds from Matt Hayden and Mike Hussey in second innings
 - Sterling bowling efforts by Anil Kumble and Brett Lee in both innings
 - Michael Clarke's 3 wicket burst in one over to win the match
 - Anil Kumble' valiant batting vigil worthy of an army general defending his national pride.
 - This was Australia's 16th consecutive win (a record they equalled with Steve Waugh's side from few years ago)

Having seen everything unfold on that fateful 5th day, it was a game for India to draw and move ahead. Instead they succumbed to pressure and yes the umpires! The Aussies didn't show sportsmanship by not shaking hands with Indians after the game, Indians purposely passed time to draw the game which they couldn't save eventually. All love lost. Sadly the game of cricket lost that day!

Here are highlights of Day 5 of that test match

Would test match cricket be ever the same after this one?

Ind v Aus (2nd Test Match, Kolkata, 2001)

Lets kick-off (toss-off really) with arguably the greatest test match of all time. (the two tied tests, the Melbourne test of 1993 between Aus and WI or the Headingley #Ashes Test of 2005 come very close though)

This test match between India and Australia played in Kolkata 2001 is the greatest on following counts
 - Australian captain Steve Waugh had declared this test series as his final frontier. A win here would have established the Aussies as the greatest team of all time (remember they had not won is India for more than 35+ years then)
 - Until the end of day 3, the Aussies had buried the Indians so deep that it was a matter of time that game would end on Day 4 itself. The Aussies surely had party of their mind.
 - What transpired on Day 4 and then further on Day 5 was straight out of a Hollywood flick or A Houdini trick for India.
 - The atmosphere at #EdenGardens was so electrifying, it resembled the Roman Colosseum with Gladiators fighting it out ball by ball.
 - No other game witnessed an extraordinary turnaround like this (although the 1981 Ashes test at Headingley had similar shades)

Presenting highlights of the complete test match. Its a bit long but every minute is worth the watch. Just see how fortunes swayed between the two teams. Simply magical ...