Innovations at times can work wonders, like it did during India’s first ODI against Sri Lanka, at Nagpur, on Tuesday. Dravid’s decision to send Irfan Pathan at number three, baffled the visitors with left-hander scoring an impressive 83.Here’s a look at a few more innovations from the past..Javagal Srinath (1996, Titan Cup): After a match winning 30 against Australia in the Titan Cup at Bangalore, Sachin Tendulkar took the risk of sending Srinath to bat in the number 3 position against South Africa, at Rajkot. Srinath hit 53 runs of 69 balls, turning out to be the highest scorer for India in a low-scoring match. However, in the next match against Australia, he failed (3 off 8 balls) to perform and was dropped down the order.Chetan Sharma (1989, Nehru Cup): For an unimpressive batsman usually batting at the end of the line-up, Chetan Sharma was surprisingly promoted to the number two slot in the batting order by captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth in the Nehru Cup ODI against England, at Kanpur in 1989. Sharma sparkled with a 96-ball 101 to help India win the match. But the experiment remained only for that one game after which Sharma was back at the No.8 position.Ian Botham (1992, World Cup): The England all-rounder first opened against New Zealand during the 1992 series at Christchurch before the World Cup and scored 79 off 73 balls. The innings saw England let Botham open in all the matches during the World Cup. However, scores of 9, 8, 6no, 47, 22, 8, 21, 9, 21, 0 in the run-up to the final, were contrary to expectations. In the next series against Pakistan, Botham was back to the No.8 position.Romesh Kaluwitharana (1996, Tour of Australia): Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga did the unthinkable when he sent wicket-keeper-batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana to open along with Sanath Jayasuriya in the first ODI of this path-breaking series in 1996. The Lankans set the new trend of taking as much advantage as possible of the fielding restrictions in the first 15 overs, where Kalu smashed 77 of 75 balls and went on to open in another 112 innings for Lanka, later. The innings also marked Kalu and Jayasuriya’s famed opening pair in the World Cup.Dipak Patel (1992, World Cup): New Zealand’s innovations in one-day cricket go a long way back, with one of the most famous ones being Martin Crowe’s surprising decision to open the bowling with off-spinner Dipak Patel. He opened the attack against England, taking 2/26 runs. However, the experiment failed to work any further when New Zealand lost their next match to Pakistan, the eventual winners.
