The World Cup fever is slowly building up and
our cricket crazy nation would be fondly remembering the greatest cricketing
moments involving our country. Which are the World Cup moments that still warm
the cockles of the hearts of the Indian cricket fans?
The 1983 ICC
Cricket World Cup:
Underdogs India winning the World Cup
beating Australia, England and West Indies on the way, can be compared to David
defeating many Goliaths. Independent India’s greatest sporting success during
that time is part of legends now. There were some great moments during this
historic turn of events.
1) Kapil Dev’s blistering 175 – As a kid I
remember my father glued to the radio set listening to the news and excitedly
narrating how the India captain made 175 not out against Zimbabwe and took
India to victory from a precarious 17 for 5. Unfortunately there are no
recordings of that innings, probably the best innings ever played in a World
Cup, by one of the greatest cricketers.
2) India dethrones the West Indies – In the
final match, defending a modest 183, there are scenes that would always be
shown on TV and would be played again and again on YouTube. Kapil Dev running
backwards and taking an excellent catch to dismiss the dangerous Vivian
Richards. Mohinder Amarnath, the man of tournament, getting the last wicket of Michael
Holding out leg before, pulling off a stump as a souvenir as the team runs
towards the pavilion, spectators thronging the players. Then the Indian captain
with that innocent smile, with the Cup on the Lord’s balcony, the team behind
him. India as a cricketing nation had arrived.
The 1987 Reliance
World Cup:
The Indian team led by Kapil Dev again,
started the 1987 World Cup campaign at home, hoping to repeat the performance
of 1983. India dramatically lost out to Australia by 1 run in the first match,
but subsequently put a string of superlative performances winning all the other
league games.
The television had made major inroads into
Indian households. Graham Gooch of England eventually “swept” India aside in
the semi-final clash, but before that in a league match against the New Zealand
there were some moments to cherish for the Indian fan.
3) Chetan Sharma pulls of a hat trick – The
Haryana bowler took the first hat trick ever in a World Cup, all three batsmen
out bowled. The Kiwis still managed to score 221 batting first, a decent total
for those times.
4) Gavaskar blasts through to his maiden ODI ton - India scored the required 221 runs in 32 overs at a very brisk rate
and the original little master Gavaskar, scored an pretty uncharacteristic stroke
filled hundred in style, with 3 sixes and 10 fours. Alongside there was Kris
Srikanth who scored a characteristic stroke filled 75. We had a great evening
discussing the match with friends and neighbours that day.
The 1992 Cricket
World Cup:
The Gavaskar era had come to an end and the
Tendulkar era had begun for Indian cricket. The 1992 World Cup in Australia and
New Zealand belonged to Martin Crowe of New Zealand and Imran Khan’s Pakistan. India
had a forgettable outing, winning only 2 of the 7 league matches. An Indian fan
would still remember beating arch rivals Pakistan, the eventual champions.
5) Young Tendulkar stamps his class - The
man of the match in the clash with Pakistan, an 18 year old Tendulkar, scored a
matured 50 to take India to 216. Pakistan started their reply well but then
India could trigger a batting collapse in the Pakistani middle order to get
them out 43 runs short. This match is also famous for the incident involving
Kiran More and Pakistani great Javed Miandad where the latter jumped like a
monkey imitating the Indian keeper. India did not make it to the semis, a
placard during the finals read, “India beat Pakistan, end of the World Cup.”
The 1996 Cricket
World Cup:
World Cup 1996 would be remembered for Ranatunga’s
unbeaten champion Sri Lankan side and the terror of its openers Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana.
For India, Tendulkar scored heaps of runs and Kumble tumbled many wickets.
Eventually captain Azharuddin’s India lost
to the champions in an extremely forgettable semifinal at the Eden Gardens; but
there were some great moments for the Indian cricket fans with the defining
match being the quarter final clash against Pakistan, in Bangalore.
6) Ajay Jadeja took Waqar Younis to the cleaners - India batted first, Navjot Sidhu scored 93 and was the man of
match. However the way Ajay Jadeja took on arguably the best bowler of the era,
Waqar Younis, is part of cricketing folklore.
The middle order batsman whacked Younis to all parts of the Chinnaswamy
Stadium during the death overs and India amassed 50 runs in the last 3 overs to
finish at 287.
7) Venkatesh Prasad vs Aamir Sohail - In
reply the Pakistani openers Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar started playing as if
they would finish off the match in 30 overs or so. After hitting a boundary
during a Venkatesh Prasad over, Sohail walked down the pitched and pointed his
bat at Prasad threateningly, telling him where he will hit the next ball. The
next ball from Prasad took Sohail’s off stump with it and the bowler gave him
an abusive send off. No Indian fan worth his salt can even forget this one!
The 1999 Cricket
World Cup:
The 1999 World Cup in England saw the
beginning of the dominance of Australia as the world champion that was to
continue for around a decade. India did not make it to the semi-finals in this
edition, but there were some exceptional performances nonetheless.
8) Tendulkar’s tribute to his father -
Tendulkar lost his father before India’s match against Zimbabwe and he flew
back to India for the funeral. India lost the match unbelievably by 3 runs, suddenly
losing its 3 last wickets in a Henry Olonga over. Tendulkar returned for the
next match with Kenya and scored an unbeaten 140. Post scoring the century he
looked up at the sky and dedicated the century to his father, one of the most poignant
moments of the tournament.
9) The Prince of Kolkata at his magnificent best - The highlight of the Indian performance in this edition of the world
cup was the mammoth 183 scored by Sourav Ganguly in Taunton, against Sri Lanka.
The southpaw showed incredible dominance over the Lankan bowlers. To step out
and hit respectable fast bowlers for sixes and treating spin great Muthiah
Muralitharan like a street bowler needs some attitude. Rahul Dravid also scored
brilliant hundreds in this match and the one before against Kenya.
The 2003 Cricket
World Cup:
India covered itself in glory in the 2003
World Cup that was jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Led by
Saurav Ganguly, the team won against all teams they played, except Australia. The
road to the final was like a dream with couple of exceptional moments.
10) Ashish Nehra sends shivers down the spine of the English - Against England, India batted first and Tendulkar hooked a
memorable six of Caddick on his way to a half century. However the real fireworks
happened during the second innings of the match when England batted. Ashish
Nehra bowled like a magician and returned with figures 6 for 23. Such was the perfection
of his line, length and swing, the entire English batting lineup with names
like Trescothik, Knight, Vaughan and Hussain struggled to put wood on leather,
that entire Durban evening.
11) Tendulkar derails the Rawalpindi Express - As always, the greatest match for India was reserved against
Pakistan. It was touted as the “Sachin vs Shoaib” encounter. However in his
very first over, Tendulkar upper cut the express fast bowler for a six and then
followed it with two consecutive boundaries. Shoaib was removed from the
attack. Sehwag did the same to Waqar Younis couple of overs later. The mighty
Indian batting chased down 272 runs in a little more than 45 overs. Tendulkar
top scored with 98 and was adjudged man of the match. It was the month of
March.
In the final against Australia Captain
Ganguly unexpectedly batted second. Ricky Ponting’s invincible team never
looked like losing and the captain himself batted us out of the match with a
marauding 140. The final would always remain a series of “what ifs” for the
Indian supporters. An inform battery of bowlers and arguably the best batting
line up of the world, could not stop India from losing the match that mattered
the most.
The 2007 Cricket
World Cup:
The 2007 World Cup was completely forgettable
for India where we could not clear the league stages and lost out to Bangladesh.
There is nothing much to celebrate, except the win against minnows Bermuda with
Virender Sehwag scoring a bludgeoning century and India scoring a mammoth 413.
The 2011 Cricket
World Cup:
The Indian team had changed a lot under Dhoni
and he carried forward the good work done by earlier captains like Ganguly. The
tied match with England was the highlight of the league stages; however the
greatest moments for India were reserved for the knock out stages when India
beat Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka within a week to claim the trophy after
28 years.
12) Yuvraj propels India to the Semis – The
player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh, was India’s greatest asset in this world
cup. In the quarter final against Australia, India was in a spot of bother
chasing 260, but Yuvraj scored a brilliant half century with the team in need,
ably supported by Suresh Raina.
13) Tendulkar, the Semi Final and India beat Pakistan, yet again! - It was a week day and the
entire office gathered inside the cafeteria to watch to watch the match. When
Sehwag hit 5 consecutive boundaries of Umar Gul, it seemed that the ceiling
would blow off. Tendulkar scored a dogged 85 and was adjudged the man of the
match, but the match was actually won by the bowlers. Pakistan would have
chased down India’s modest 260, but for the bowlers who choked the middle order
and kept taking important wickets. Zaheer Khan had especially mastered the art
of choking out oppositions and was the unsung hero of the tournament.
14) Gautam Gambhir stands up again in a World Cup final - The final at the Wankhede was a fairy tale that would be
permanently etched in the minds of Indian cricket fans. Chasing 274 to lift the
cup, India lost Sehwag early and when the master blaster edged Malinga to give
a catch to the slips, India plummeted to 23 for 2. It seemed that we would not
make it and Tendulkar would finish his outstanding career without a world cup. But
then Gambhir, who played the most important innings in the T20 world cup final
win for India in 2007, played a pivotal role here as well. He made a gritty 97
with the support of Virat Kohli and then with Dhoni, each run worth its weight
in gold.
15) Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the innings of his life – When Kohli got out, Dhoni promoted himself up the order ahead of Yuvraj,
and played an innings that every kid playing anywhere in the country dreams of
playing. The World Cup final, India in grave danger and captain cool with his
brain made of cucumber, takes India home with a master class 91. No Indian cricket
fan can forget that last six. That bat speed and the full swing, the ball
disappearing into the stands. Dhoni watching it wide eyed till the very last
moment and then rolling the bat in his hands in a gesture of triumph, to be
engulfed by an ecstatic Yuvraj who was batting at the other end. Tendulkar running
down from the pavilion smiling, followed by the rest of the team. Scenes that can
be matched only by Kapil Dev standing with his team at the Lord’s balcony
during the English summer of 1983.
Will Dhoni be able to repeat the
exceptional feat in 2015 and defend the title with a much younger team? As cricket
fans we want more cricketing moments like the ones above and the results would
take care of themselves. We would then say, “Will not give it back”.
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