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Journalism of Courage
Making a debut in a tournament like the World Cup will certainly put a cricketer under a lot of pressure. But for Navjot Singh Sidhu, it was a cakewalk.
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After an uneventful Test debut against the West Indies back in 1983, the Punjab cricketer began his ODI career against a mighty Australian side at Chennai in the 1987 edition of the World Cup.
The Kangaroos, batting first, posted a massive 271-run target for the defending champions. In reply, India made a decent start. But after the dismissal of Sunil Gavaskar at the 69, the Chidambaram stadium witnessed the arrival of a remarkable young cricketer in the international arena.
The fearless lanky batsman displayed great strength against an Australian attack that included the likes of Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott. Sidhu thrashed the Australian bowlers and went on to score 79-ball 73 that was studded with five dazzling sixes and four boundaries, earning the nickname ‘sixer Sidhu’.
Though India lost the game by a run, Sidhu’s flashy knock won a lot of accolades. Sidhu went on to score consecutive half century in each of the next three games, finally failing to do so in the semifinal against England, that saw India’s exit from the series.
After Sidhu’s pathetic performance in his first Test series, Rajan Bala, a noted cricket columnist, wrote an article on him titled “Sidhu: The Strokeless Wonder” in Indian Express. The column had a great impact on Sidhu’s life and he started taking his cricketing career seriously from there on out.
After his wonderful performance in 1987 world cup, the same columnist wrote an article titled “Sidhu: From Strokeless Wonder To A Palm-Grove Hitter”, applauding the performance of the ‘Sixer Sidhu’.
