The 10th edition of the World Cup is over. The battle on the 22 yard pitch that takes place once in every four years has had its instances of Shock, disbelief, tragedy, helplessness, ecstasy and jubilation. Fantastic catches that won matches, run-outs that changed the course of history, brain snaps and lost opportunities. All these moments are an important part of the game and have introduced the 'possibility' factor which gave it an interesting color. The World Cup over the years has been as much a story of triumph and glory as it has been of heartbreaks and disappointments.
Rebellious Eden gardens (1996) - The last time the Cup came to the Sub-continent, it resulted in heartbreak for India. In the semi-finals Sri Lanka batted first and managed a competitive 251/8. In reply India reached 98/1, but Sanath Jayasuriya dismissed both Tendulkar (65) and Manjrekar (25) as India collapsed in disarray. At 120/8, the 110,000 crowd at Kolkata began throwing bottles on the pitch, and referee Clive Lloyd took the teams off for a 20-minute cooling-off period. However, when the players returned the bottle throwing resumed and Lloyd awarded the match to the Lankans by default.
Gibbs’s on-slaught (2007) - Herschelle Gibbs smashed his way into World Cup history when he hit six sixes in one over in a Group A match against the Netherlands. Gibbs was at his attacking best butchering Dan Van Bunge for half a dozen on every delivery. His murderous mood at Warner Park fetched him a limelight no one had ever been in before. South Africa managed a humongous 353 to which the Dutch replied with a sultry 132
Minnow Bashing (2003) – The 10,240 strong Centurion crowd were entertained for 98 minutes as John Davison, the Canadian Gilchrist gored the Windies with a blistering 76-ball 111, the fastest World Cup century at that time. He top-edged a cut shot off Pedro Collins over point in the fourth over for the first boundary of the day. The next one disappeared over cover for the first six. Thereafter it was carnage. Time and again he would back away to drill over the off-side ring and when it was short, he would dismiss them over square leg. But despite that thunder, the Caribbean lads would have the last laugh as they chased down 206 in only 20.3 overs with 7 wickets in hand.
Kapil’s stunner (1983) - After India had capitulated for a paltry 183 in the final, two-time defending champions West Indies with their list of attacking stroke-makers were the favourites to complete a hat-trick of World Cup titles. They lost Greenidge early but Viv Richards was keen on finishing the game.Hitting 7 fours in his knock of 33, Richards' cavalier start had almost taken the steam out of India when he miscued a pull off Madan Lal. Kapil Dev ran more than 30 yards backwards to pouch it and send Richards back. It was the impetus India needed to press for an unlikely win which they finally pulled off.
Airborne Jhonty (1992) - South Africa were restricted to 211 but a rain intervention and the crazy rain rule had made the target very stiff for Pakistan. Inzamam-ul-Haq was the point man to do the job and he had set about doing it in spectacular fashion. When on 48, Inzy ran for a quick leg-bye but was sent back from half-way down the pitch by a hesitant Imran. Suddenly Jonty Rhodes sprang up from a deep backward point position and started charging towards the wicket rather than throwing the ball.A few milliseconds later, the Protean dynamite was airborne with both legs in the air, body parallel to the ground and he razed all three stumps. Inzamam was out but that was secondary. It was a moment of sheer class...imagination juxtaposed with the spectacular and fielding in an instant had become an art from being just a cricketing chore
Australia romp to World Cup hat-trick (2007) – Rain delayed the start of the final between Sri Lanka and Australia in Bridgetown. Adam Gilchrist hit the fastest hundred in any final and reached 149 with Australia making 281/4 off 38 overs. The talking point of this innings was of course the squash ball that Gilly used in his gloves while batting Sri Lanka never appeared likely to top this score, but the latter part of their innings was played in appalling light, which did little to enhance the game of cricket. However, the winners, Australia, completely justified their status as the world’s top cricketing country.
Miandad does a jig (1992) – Perhaps the only thing that comes secondary to Pakistan’s win in the finals. In the group match against India, Javed Miandad, while batting, out of frustration mocked a ‘Chirping” Kiran More by jumping and leaping in the air as More was constantly shouting while appealing. This definitely goes down as the most hilarious “stand-up” comedy act on the Cricket Field
Donald’s quack (1999) – This is remembered as a black day in South African cricket. Needing 9 runs to win off the final over after a see-saw battle, Lance Klusener hit 2 boundaries of the first two balls to bring down the equation to 1 off 4 balls. Klusener attempted a quick single on the fourth ball with Donald not paying attention to the call. Finally when he did it was too late as Gilchrist had run him out by then. The match ended in a tie but Australia went on to the final due to their better run-rate in the Super Six table.
Sachin derails Rawalpindi Express (2003) – Perhaps the best match in World Cup history. After the Kargil war and the match-fixing scandal in 1999 and 2000-01 respectively, India and Pakistan discontinued their cricketing tie-ups, only to lock horns in the Super 8 match against Pakistan. Before the match, Shoaib Akhtar confidently remarked that he is ready for Sachin and that his ball was dying to meet Tendulkar’s willow. Sachin responded by smashing Akhtar over third-man for a massive six that went spoiling his figures which later read 72 runs in 10 overs. India of course went on and won the match to retain their clean sweep against their arch-rivals in World Cup.
Slinger scores four in four (2007) – This cant be completed without mentioning the havoc caused by Lasith Malinga against South Africa during their super-8 battle. South Africa looked to be cruising to victory, needing just 4 more runs from 32 balls at 206-5 , before Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga set a new World Cup record - and also ODI level record - with 4 wickets from 4 balls. The batsmen dismissed were Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini. Nevertheless, South Africa held their nerve to scrape home by one wicket.
A well written piece. I enjoyed as various bits from the history of cricket compiled this piece. It had a newness to it, more like that of an opinion that a person possessing knowledge and passion for the game is sharing which is a thing always welcomed by those associated with the subject. Along with the matter keep improving the style of presenting it too. Try and write the sentences in a more captivating manner, but be wary of becoming over dramatic.
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