November 1998, Sharjah – Finals of Coca-Cola Champions Trophy, India v/s Zimbabwe
Sachin 124* (92b, 12*4s, 6*6s)
The Sharjah
Cricket Association Stadium is located in the heart of the deserts of UAE. In
the 1990s, the amenities and infrastructure of the ground were basic. The heat,
frequent sand storms and volatile fan base made it one of the most difficult
places to play cricket in. The conditions on the ground are not very
encouraging either; a slow and low wicket is surrounded by a heavy outfield. To
sum it up, playing and succeeding in Sharjah was one of the most difficult accomplishments
in world cricket. All these hostilities somehow always pepped up one man.
Sachin played some absolute gems in these deserts and decimated some of the
most renowned bowlers of his age.
1998 was a
very special year for Sachin. He was in a rich vein of form and the reputation
of being the most complete batsman of the era was always a step ahead of him.
In the month of November India, Sri Lanka & Zimbabwe participated in
Coca-Cola Champions Trophy. The matches of the series were low scoring and
mostly one sided in nature. Sri Lanka fared really badly and lost all the
matches of the series. India and Zimbabwe cruised into the finals. In the last
‘round-robin’ match, a dress rehearsal for the finals, Zimbabwe shocked Indians
by 13 runs. A relatively unknown Henry Olonga wrecked the Indian batting line
up and dismissed four Indian batsmen; Sachin was one of these four and lost his
wicket to a cleverly bowled short-pitched delivery. This defeat left Indians
and Sachin with a pretty bad taste. So when India met them in the finals a
couple of days later, Sachin rolled out a few lessons for the Zimbabwean
bowlers.
In the
finals, India won the toss and asked Zimbabwe to bat first. The retaliation by
the Indian bowlers was swift and Zimbabwe was reduced to 116 for 7 by 31st
over. Some stubborn resistance by Eddo Brandes and Paul Strang helped Zimbabwe
to attain some respectability. The partnership between the two was broken when a
sharply turning delivery breached the defense of Eddo Brandes and crashed into
the stumps. The proven partnership breaker in Sachin did the job. Zimbabwe
managed to play out their complete quota of 50 overs and set a target off 197
for the Indian team. Sachin and Sourav began the proceedings for India. In the
last match, Olonga had made Sachin look a little stupid so there was just one
thing in Sachin’s mind, “Vengeance”. He started aggressively and slammed a
short pitch ball by Brandes through square-point for a boundary; the shot had
more force than timing. Some of the shots that Sachin played after that had
brute power engraved all over it. Sachin slashed hard on a delivery by Olonga and
it went to the fence like a speeding bullet. The last ball of the same over was
slashed harder and it went for a flat six over third-man fence; it was complete
mayhem. The ever annoying flying insects of Sharjah were creating a nuisance for
Sachin; Sachin tried to waft them away but the bugs were persistent. The scene
of Sachin trying to ‘shoo’ away the insects was a funny sight and Olonga obliged
with a smile. But the smile was wiped off his face real quick when he was
subjected to some serious punishment.
In the 8th over, Sachin played a lofted cover-drive of Olonga and the ball trickled over the fence for a boundary; the very next ball was a half-volley and it was smashed over long-off for maximum. The following ball was dealt with similar savagery and a fierce square cut sent it through the fence for another four. 14 runs off 3 balls; Sachin was on fire. Sourav from the other end tried to calm down Sachin but the man was not in a mood to listen. Captain Alistiar Campbell took Olonga out of the attack and handed the ball to his most experienced spinner Paul Strang. Paul was asked to bowl leg-breaks from round the wicket and try to pitch the ball into the roughs outside the leg-stump; the bowler was expecting or rather hoping that this negative line would choke the run flow. But that never happened; first ball was short and was pulled over the wide-ish mid-on for a four. Paul switched to over the wicket and compensated in length. He bowled the next one fuller and it was wacked over extra-cover for a huge six. The bowler went back to round the wicket but for no avail; this time Sachin hoisted him for another six straight over his head. The attempt to ape Shane Warne’s line had gone horribly wrong; after all Sachin had already dealt with this tactic against Warne himself and decimated it.
Sachin was making a mockery of the bowling. The hitting extravaganza was so exuberant that hardly anyone noticed that Sachin had completed his half-century with the second six off Paul. It took him just 28 balls to race to the milestone which included 5 fours and 4 maximums; 44 runs off 9 scoring shots. After taking 16 off the first 4 balls, Sachin again went for a biggie; only to miscue it. The ball took the top edge and lobbed high into the air. Andy Flower called for it and was about to complete the catch when Paul ran into him. The chance went down begging and a look of despair was evident on the faces of Zimbabwean players. The misery for Paul didn’t end there. In the 14th over, Sachin added insult to his injury; he swept him four a four off the second ball, lofted him over long-on for a six off the fourth and then another four off the penultimate delivery.
Sachin completed his century off 71 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes. By the match was truly settled and done. Sachin slowed down a little after the century. He smashed a six & a four to cap off a dominating run chase in the 30th over. India won the match with 20 overs and 10 wickets to spare. Sachin was declared the Man of the Match and Man of the Series.
Part - 1
Part - 2
Part -3
Scorecard
/********************************************************************/
If you LIKE it, Please SHARE
No comments:
Post a Comment