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Sachin Tendulkar smashed hundred in Coca-Cola cup final. (Source: Reuters)
Cricket is known to be the game of glorious uncertainties and it continues to unfold a number of unexpected incidents every now and then, and brings a lot of excitement to fans and spectators around the world. May it be a splendid hundred, a dangerous spell or a marvellous effort in the deep, the sport keeps the spectators, viewers on the edge of their seat. In this new series, we take a look back at the incidents which will be remembered forever. In focus today is the week from April 20 – April 27.
April 20 1994: Pepsi Austral-Asia Cup, Pakistan vs New Zealand
Generally known for their bowling abilities and records, Pakistan on this occasion showed that they were never a lesser force when it came to batting as well. This was the second semi-final of the Pepsi Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah where the Kiwis took on Pakistan in Sharjah. Pakistan after being put into bat first lost Saeed Anwar on a team score of 57 but what came next was enough to push Black Caps on the backfoot. Aamer Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq came together and stitched a mammoth partnership of 263 runs during the course for the second wicket which was then a record. Pakistan smashed 328/2 in 50 overs and made it to the final after beating New Zealand by 62 runs. Sohail scored 134 while Inzamam smashed 137 runs during the process.
April 21 1995: West Indies thump Australia in their own backyard
West Indies were once considered the giants of the game and rightly so as they never showed any mercy on the opponents. One such game took place in 1995 between Australia and West Indies. This was the third Test match of a four-match Test series that was being held in Trinidad. Richie Richardson won the toss and asked Mark Taylor’s Australian side to bat first. Curtly Ambrose’s brutal bowling saw him pick a fifer in the first innings while the hosts restricted Australia to a total of 128. Steve Waugh’s unbeaten 63 was the only half century of the innings which was never enough to anchor Australia to a bigger total. But what caught everyone’s eye was the interaction between Ambrose and Waugh. At one point an angry Ambrose asked Waugh, what he was looking after the Australian showed mettle against a bowling line up that was furious in their own manner. According to Wisden, Steve Waugh, “stood his ground like John Wayne”. Later in reply, even West Indies were bundled out for 136 in their first innings. The low scoring continued in the second innings too when Taylor-led side was once against wrapped up for 105 to hand West Indies a target of 98 runs which they achieved after losing just one wicket. Ambrose returned with 9 wickets in the match that was concluded in three days.
April 22 1997-98: Coca-Cola Cup, India vs Australia
The Sharjah crowd on this day witnessed two storms, first one a desert storm that halted the match for a while and the second came out from Sachin’s bat when he showed one of the most ruthless side of his batting. Steve Waugh, after winning the toss, opted to bat first and Australia, riding on Michael Bevan’s 101, went on to score 284/7 in 50 overs. Opener Mark Waugh too scored 81 in the innings. In reply, India kept on losing wickets at regular intervals but Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar never gave up and went on to register his best ODI score of 143 runs. India had to score 276 runs in 46 overs after the target was revised but the Men in Blue were restricted to 250 runs. They lost the match by 26 runs but registered a berth in the final due to a better run-rate and won the tournament eventually.
April 23 2013: IPL, RCB vs PWI
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd were expecting some quick runs from their batsmen but they would have never expected the thunderstorm that came on the field when Chris Gayle was at his brutal best against Pune Warriors India franchise in the 2013 edition. Batting first, Chris Gayle opened the innings with former Sri Lankan captain Dilshan who was apparently one of the spectators standing on the other end of the pitch. Gayle started the batting and soon came up with fireworks with his willow. He smashed the Pune bowlers for 175 runs that included 17 sixes and 13 fours in 66 balls to grab the record of the highest individual score in T20 format and the record of the fastest T20 century that came in 30 balls. Bangalore scored 263/5 in 20 overs. They later restricted the Warriors for 133 runs to win the match by 130 runs.
April 24 1998: India win Coca Cola Cup
India took perfect revenge when Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar once again notched up a hundred and this time it came in a winning cause. After posting 272/9 in 50 overs, Australia started the defence well but ran out of options to stop Tendulkar show. The former India skipper celebrated his birthday with a match winning 134 runs that took India over the line in the final by 6 wickets.
April 25 2004: Zimbabwe record lowest ODI total
4 4 7 0 0 2 4 3 0 4 0, this wasn’t a telephone number but the scorecard of the Zimbabwe side that faced Sri Lanka in one of the ODIs in Harare. Chaminda Vaas ran through into Zimbabwe batting to pick 4 wickets while Dion Ebrahim and “Extras” were the highest run-scorer for them scoring 7 apiece during their innings of 35 runs. Sri Lanka would have been disappointed about just one fact that they didn’t win the match by 10 wickets as Russel Arnold was removed by Douglas Hondo. Sri Lanka won the match by 9 wickets.
April 26 2003: Jacques Rudolph makes a dream Test debut
Jacques Rudolph wouldn’t have asked for a better start in the international cricket as he etched name in the record books after scoring the second highest Test score on debut. While facing Bangladesh bowlers in Chittagong, he scored 222 runs and smashed a partnership of 429 runs with Boeta Dippenaar. South Africa later won the match by an innings and 60 runs.
April 27 2002: Shoaib Akhtar clocks 100mph
Pakistan speedstar Shoaib Akhtar clocked 100.04 mph during Pakistan’s match against New Zealand when he bowled a delivery to Craig McMillan in Lahore. Arguably, this would have been the fastest ball ever bowled but the ICC refused the sanction as they didn’t have the standard measuring tools.
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