MUMBAI, APRIL 19: ``Arre, yeh team ko bhejo England mein,'' shouted a group of youngsters when Krishnamachari Srikkanth unleashed his trademark shots at the Wankhede Stadium last evening. Perhaps, there couldn't have been a better tribute to the Class of '83 who locked horns with the 1999 World Cup team in a testimonial for the late Raman Lamba and the bedridden Ramnath Parkar.Passage of time might have worn them out physically but the Devils gave ample evidence of their famed abilities. Kapil Dev's outswingers; the athleticism of Yashpal Sharma and Sunil Valsan, who took a superb catch running backwards to dismiss Rahul Dravid; Srikkanth's over-the-top stuff followed by Mohinder Amarnath's exquisite cover drive off Debasis Mohanty; and a late charge by Madan Lal, who took 26 runs inclusive of two sixes and three boundaries of a Dravid over, formed some of the vintage stuff that was dished out by the World Cup champions.Barring Syed Kirmani, who had gone on a pilgrimage to Haj, the entire WorldCup squad of 1983, including the manager PR Mansingh was in attendance. Sunil Gavaskar sat out and so did Kirti Azad, after pulling a muscle.Azharuddin and his lads won the encounter by 88 runs, but their effort paled as the stars of yesteryears strung a nostalgic tune in front of a 25,000 strong audience that comprised cine superhero Amitabh Bachchan and ace hockey star Dhanraj Pillay.The most redeeming feature from the nation's point of view was Sachin Tendulkar's display. After sitting out for two triangular tournaments, the little maestro gave a glimpse of his fitness levels by batting through the entire 35 overs, and then strut out to bowl seven overs. An apt tribute came from Kapil, who said: ``He is the diamond of the team. The commitment he showed today was admirable. He had been out for a long time and he showed his hunger for runs continues.''The batting genius himself was keen on getting some batting practice. ``On the eve of the World Cup I badly needed a long session out in the middle. Ienjoyed fielding and bowling and I am hundred per cent fit,'' he revealed later. Tendulkar's prescription for the team to do well in the World Cup was: ``We should keep a cool head and give our best. And with the support of the nation we can do well.''Kapil too rung in a message for the Indian team saying: ``believe in yourselves and you can achieve it.''The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Raj Singh Dungarpur fittingly summed up the proceedings saying: ``It was a contest of history and hope and we should thank the teams for producing a cricket match which we will not forget for our lifetime.''Brief ScoresIndia-99 XI 292-4 (S Tendulkar 115 not out, S Ramesh 78) bt India-83 XI 204 in 33.3 overs (K Srikkanth 45, Dilip Vengsarkar 44, Madan Lal 39, Tendulkar 2-37, Dravid 2-60).
