An odds-defying English victory
Partab Ramchand - 28 January 2002
When India faced off against England in the Reliance Cup semifinal at
Bombay in November 1987, rarely could they have taken the field in a
one-day international with so many factors in their favour. The
defending champions, they were playing at home, had won five
successive games, and were up against opponents who had many
limitations. Pakistan had beaten England twice in the group matches,
and everything pointed to India registering a one-sided victory.
Kapil Dev won the toss and sent England in to bat. Graham Gooch
dominated the scoring from the start, but India still claimed two
wickets for 79 in 22 overs. Mike Gatting then joined Gooch and the two
added 117 runs for the third wicket in 19 overs. Both batsmen adopted
the bold policy of sweeping and pulling the two left-arm spinners
Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri. As future events proved, this was the
major turning point.
Gatting on 56 finally swept Maninder onto his leg-stump; he faced 62
balls and hit five fours. In his following over, Maninder removed
Gooch as well, but the opening batsman had scored 115 off 136 balls
with 11 boundaries. Allan Lamb countered the double blow by hitting an
unbeaten 32 off 29 balls, and England were able to post a highly
respectable 254 for six in 50 overs.
India suffered an early blow when Philip DeFreitas bowled Sunil
Gavaskar (4) with the total on 7. This was to be Gavaskar's last
appearance for India in international cricket. Krishnamachari
Srikkanth (31) and Navjot Singh Sidhu (22) put the innings back on
track with a second-wicket partnership of 51 runs. The run-rate,
however, could not be improved, thanks to accurate bowling and
brilliant fielding, and neither Srikkanth (55 balls) and Sidhu (40
balls) managed a single boundary. Neil Foster removed both and, at 73
for three, India were in some trouble. But Mohammad Azharuddin and
Chandrakant Pandit (in for Dilip Vengsarkar) initiated a recovery
process by adding 48 runs for the fourth wicket. After Pandit (24)
became Foster's third victim, Azharuddin and Kapil gave a fillip to
the scoring rate with a flurry of strokes.
At 168 for four, India seemed well on course to victory. Both
Azharuddin and Kapil were settled, there was plenty of batting to
come, and the required run-rate was below six an over. There was no
need for any mock heroics, but it was at this stage that Kapil
executed a stroke he was to regret all is life. Carried away by his
own impetuosity, the Indian captain, who had hit 30 out of the fifth-
wicket partnership of 47, heaved Eddie Hemmings high and straight to
Gatting who had just then stationed himself on the mid-wicket
boundary.
In retrospect, this shot cost India the match. Even though Azharuddin
and Shastri took the score to 204 before the sixth wicket fell, the
Indians were strangely directionless. Hemmings, who had been hit by
Azharuddin and Pandit for 27 runs from his first three overs, now
struck back with a vengeance. He had Azharuddin leg-before for 64 (74
balls, seven fours). Shastri was still determination personified, but
panic and recklessness now set in. With five wickets gone and 10 overs
in hand, India were looking for five runs an over. But in a flash,
Kiran More (0), Manoj Prabhakar (4) and Chetan Sharma (0) left, and
Shastri too finally gave in. When on 21, he swung at Hemmings,
resulting in a skier that was gratefully accepted by wicket-keeper
Paul Downton.
Astonishingly, India lost their last five wickets for 15 runs in five
overs, and the end came with a suddenness that was shattering for the
packed Wankhede stadium crowd, as well as millions watching on
television all over the world, to stomach. Hemmings, who had looked so
innocuous initially, took four for 21 in 34 balls and England,
scarcely believing their good fortune, trooped out exultant victors by
35 runs.
© CricInfo
[Archive]
Teams
|
England,
India.
|
Players/Umpires
|
Kapil Dev,
Graham Gooch,
Mike Gatting,
Ravi Shastri,
Allan Lamb,
Phil DeFreitas,
Sunny Gavaskar,
Navjot Sidhu,
Kris Srikkanth,
Neil Foster,
Chandrakant Pandit,
Mohammad Azharuddin.
|
Grounds
|
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
|
Internal Links
|
Reliance World Cup, 1987/88.
|