Windies Hara Kiri in the Semifinal of 1996 World Cup

Defining Moments of #ICCWorldCup

Aus v WI , 1996, World Cup Semifinal, Mohali

If the first semi final between Sri Lanka and India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata had drama, this second semifinal had its share too! Boy .. what a game!

Again two critical moments in the game

1. The Stuart Law and Michael Bevan partnership

Batting first the Aussies got off to the worst possible start 15/4 (Taylor, Mark Waugh, Ponting, Steve Waugh all come and gone).

The Windies were harboring thought of a 100+ run chase and cantering into the World Cup final. 

The two however had different ideas. Slowly, they started building a solid partnership. Once they got their eyes in, Law took the attack to the opposition while Bevan held fort. A magnificent parttneship of 127 followed before Law was run out but not before laying a foundation for a somewhat fightable score. The Aussies eventually made 207 in their stipulated 50 overs. Something to bowl at...

2. Shivanrine Chanderpaul's wicket
Chasing a modest score, the Windies began cautiously. Chanderpaul and Browne took the score to 25 before Shane Warne got rid off Browne for 10. In came Brian Lara and tore into the Aussie bowling in his inimitable style. 

The two put on a 50+ stand in no time before Lara was bowled by Steve Waugh for 45.

The West Indian captain, Richie Rcihardson joined Chanders and they set about chasing the target like it was a walk in the park. At 165 for 2 in 41 overs, the game seemed done and dusted. 

43 off 54 balls with 8 wickets in hand.

Then tragedy struck for the Windies (just like it had for the Indians when Sachin was out after dominating the opposition bowling). In a rush of blood, Chanderpaul spooned a catch to mid on to be dismissed for 65 and the game turned course dramatically.

Warne claimed 3 wickets in no time after that. The seamers applied run pressure and Windies started collapsing. Richardson was still around and kept pushing the score along. However, he was loosing partners at the other end and fast.

As the last over began and 10 needed to win with two wickets in hand, Richardson smote a boundary followed by a single attempt that led to Ambrose being run out. In walked Courtney Walsh, the batsman with most ducks to his name then.

And what happened, first ball, Damien Fleming castled his off stump.

Windies all out for 202, 5 runs short of the Aussie total.

Extaordinary scenes in Mohali and Aussies celebrated while the West Indian captain sadly walked back unconquered but defeated!

Amazing game of cricket with awesome memories. We were watching this game on Doordarshan (India's TV broadcaster) when there was a power outage in our locality. This is when the Windies fuse went off too. They were coasting at 158 for 2 then and we felt it was a matter of time before they crossed the winning line.

We switched over to All India Radio (India's Radio broadcaster) and the commentary was magical. Hats of Gautam Bhimani and Abhay Chaturvedi for bring the match alive for us. The drama, twists and turns, wickets, runs were so beautifully presented, we felt we were at the stadium.

By the time the power came back, Windies needed 10 in the last over and the rest as they say is all history!!

Tendulkar Runout, Crowd Fury at Kolkata 1996 Semi Final

Defining Moments at ‪#‎CricketWorldCup‬

In this series, we present to you moments that changed fortunes for teams, players and countries.

This one comes from that infamous 1996 semi final at #EdenGardens Kolkata 
India v Sri Lanka

Two defining incidents from the game

1. #SachinTendulkar batting beautifully for well compiled 65 set India on track in chase of 251 set by Sri Lanka. Experts had predicted the wicket to turn hence chasing that score was going to be difficult. But the ease with which he played the Sri Lankan bowling put India ahead in the contest.

At 98 for 1, India were comfortably placed and with Tendulkar going great guns India and the magnificent Eden Gardens (with over 100,000 people in and around the ground) had started celebrating India's entry into the final.

Then tragedy struck.

A harmless delivery from #SanathJayasuriya. He tried to steer it to fine leg and set off for a run. Unfortunately, the ball had ricocheted off his thigh pad and fell very close to the wicket keeper. An error of judgment. 

Fantastic presence of mind by #RomeshKaluwitarana, the Sri Lankan wicket keeper. He waited for Sachin to leave the crease and then whipped the bails off. Although Sachin tried to reach back in time, his bat was in the air when the bails came off.
Decision referred to the third umpire who saw it quite a few times before pushing the OUT button. Huge moment.... 

The Sri Lankans pumped up. Their biggest threat was out of the way.
From 98 for 1, India slumped to 109 for 4 and then to 120 for 8. (the ball spitting venom off the pitch making it unplayable for the other Indian batsmen). Looked like there were two pitches. One where Tendulkar flawlessly took the attack to the Lankans and then post his departure, it turned in to vicious turner!

2. Looking at the amazing turnaround in the game in around 30-40 minutes irked the Eden crowd. From a dominating position, India had slumped to position of elimination. In anger, the crowd started pelting bottles, paper rockets and whatever on the ground. Sri Lankans duly complained and the match referee #CliveLloyd had no choice to hand over the match to Sri Lanka since the crowd wouldn't stop.




Tendulkar and his other team mates came out to pacify the crowd to no avail. Sight of #VinodKambli, the not out batsman at the crease, crying as he walked off the field still remain etched in hearts of millions of cricket fans. Cricket was a big loser that day. Kolkata was stripped off as an international match venue for quite a few years after that.

Sri Lanka moved to the final against Australia at Lahore. 

Last Over Drama of 1999 World Cup Semi Final (SA v Aus)

Defining Moments of ‪#‎ICCWorldCup‬

Aus V SA (Semifinal, 1999, Birmingham)

In what is termed as the ‪‎greatest one day match‬ of all time, this game had it all.

Drama, Emotion, Climax and Anti-Climax ... all demonstrated in this final over with SA needing 9 to win from 6 balls.

‪#‎LanceKluesener‬ banged deliveries #1 and #2 to cover and long off fences for boundaries.

8/9 runs scored.
Scores leveled
1 to win from 4 deliveries.
Cake walk. right?

Ball #3 - Kluesener mistimes one to mid-on, Donald out of his crease, Throw misses stumps. Life for Donald. Life for SA.

Ball #4 - Kluesener again mistimes one straight down the ground, bowler misses, mid-off intercepts and back handles a throw. Kluesner starts running and reaches non-striker's end, Donald (probably stunned by the previous ball) doesn't move an inch. Then decides to run very late.

By the then the backflick has reached the bowler who slides it back to the wicket keeper. He removes the bails and Donald is miles out.

Game Tied.
Australia through to the finals (because they beat SA in their super sixes game just a few days ago in another humdinger)

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 Thump Ind To Reach Triseries Final Jan 2015

After a small hiccup upfront, the Englishmen have shown India the door in the CarltonMid Triseries tournament.

Having bowled India out for just 200, the game was setup for an easy win.
But surprisingly, India was up for a fight today and reduced Eng to 66 for 5 in no time.
As always though (and that clearly indicates the bowling class of India -- utterly miserable) No 4 (#JamesTaylor) and No 7 (Jos Butler) collaborated beautifully for a century stand to clear away any thoughts of an upset loss for England.

By the time both were dismissed, England needed less than 10 runs to win the game with over 4 overs to spare. Broad and Woakes comfortably crossed the finish line.

Eng 201 for 7, through to the final against Australia at the #MCG on 1st Feb 2015.

What does this mean for #TeamIndia?

 - Elimination from the current Tri series

 - An extra couple of "rest days" before the World Cup (Remember MS Dhoni had complained of fatigue for their poor performance a few days ago?)

 - Time for introspection whether they have any realistic chance to qualify for the knockout stages at the world cup? Am sure Ireland, Zimbabwe and UAE are already plotting an upset win against them while the others Windies, South Africa and Pakistan are already smiling at their fortune of playing an out of form and disorganized #TeamIndia

 - Batting is in woeful form although they seem to have the talent. Bowling is at best club class and will not trouble world class batsmen the least (#AB can easily plan to break his fastest ODI century record when the two teams meet at the #MCG in their World Cup group encounter in Feb)

 - Need to plan/hope to bat second as that seems to be their best chance of winning some games at the moment.

 - If this performance continues at the World Cup, it could well be curtains for Dhoni from all forms of the game. His sour ties with Virat are already showing up and VK has a great chance to grab the captaincy position with both hands.

 - Can they think of calling #AnilKumble back from retirement to bowl at opposition tails or bowl containing overs?  

Eng v Ind (Live Score Cricket) - from WACA - 30 Jan 15

CRICKET LIVE SCORE

Surprise... Surprise ... Surprise..

After 25 overs Eng 92 for 5

What the batsmen didn't deliver, the bowlers are trying to!
#StuartBinny seems to be the man in action plucking 3 of those 5 wickets.

Getting very interesting now with James Taylor and Jos Butler at the crease.
They have added 26 runs so far.

The only worry for India now is that they find it very difficult to bowl opposition lower order out of a game. So, its not all that a good news for Indian fans. The recently concluded test series against Australia is big testimony to that.

Who do you think can claim maximum of the lower order wickets remaining in the English camp?
A. Stuart Binny
B. Ravindra Jadeja
C. Any other

OR will Taylor/Butler sail Eng through to the final against Australia?

We'll find out in some time.
Stay tuned.... 

Will Eng Steamroll Ind at WACA Today? (30 Jan 15)

We're nearing the end of the first innings of the virtual semi final between England and India at #WACA, Perth in the on going CarltonMid TriSeries. India have batted poorly yet again and may be closing in on a meagre score of about 200 (it reads 194 for 9 in 47.4 overs as I write this blog piece)

#StevenFinn once again the damager-in-chief with 3 wickets supported well by Anderson, Moeen Ali and Woakes.

For a change ... the Indian openers gave a solid start :) (Rahane and Dhawan)
80 odd in 20 overs. Cautious but solid.
With wickets in hand, the charge would definitely on.
However, it seems the other batsman had decided to undo all the good work by collapsing like nine pins once the initial partnership was broken.

Kohli still playing at 3 (inspite of all the hoo-hah about him moving to 4 to add stability in the frail middle order) isn't doing much (he hasn't been able to carry his test form to one dayers unlike Steven Smith for Aus)

Raina, Rayudu, Jadeja, Binny - will they be able to do much on these Australian pitches in the world cup? nothing on show today suggested that's going to happen. Other teams in Pool B are merrily watching this Indian team disintegrate. More so the Pakistanis who are their first opponent in the WC Pool B opener at Adelaide Oval on 15th Feb.

MSD looks painfully out of sorts - batting wise (well ...) and mind wise (this was supposedly his best strength until a few months ago). Unless he really has some ace up his sleeve, he can safely pass on the World Cup to another team in two months time.

Will be back shortly with the Eng reply.
Batsmen have failed miserably. The bowlers haven't even started showing any fight yet on this tour.
Tough days ahead for Team India.

A conspiracy theory could be - England were deliberately scheduled to  play India at Brisbane and Perth (two of the fastest and bounciest tracks in Australia) to deflate their confidence going into the World Cup.

Another theory is that MSD is practicing batting first in all these games to test his bowlers defending a total. LOL ... bowlers will be the perfect scapegoats and batsmen will hide the ignominy of elimination from the cup under that pretext.

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...