INDIA'S BEST

It is always nice to go down memory lane and revisit the performances by our players that made us champions on the given day. The build up on television is full of the former players picking their best performances and talking about their own experiences at the World Cup. It feels really great to relive the moments that made a nation proud.
In the build up to the World Cup, I decided to pick my own top Indian performances at the World Cup. We all were thrilled by these performances that led us to believe that we can win against any opposition on a given day.

1. Kapil Dev’s 175 versus Zimbabwe, Tunbridge Wells, England, 1983: When you walk in at 17 for 5 what do you do? According to Kapil Dev you play out a few overs and then blast your way to a big hundred. Zimbabwe were playing their first World Cup and had already stunned the Aussies and were looking good humble India but the man from Chandigarh had other ideas. He stitched together a vital partnership with Syed Kirmani which was the main reason he could rescue the team. Sunil Gavaskar said “One he got past a hundred he just went berserk.” In a recent interview Kapil Dev said “When I walked in at 17 for 5 I did not feel the pressure but I told myself the lord has made this day for you.” That is how great players think. No matter what the situation, they believe in themselves, back themselves to bring out their best. 175 from 138 balls at a strike rate of 126.81 in the year 1983, which is something isn’t it. The only blemish in the entire scenario is that the BBC was on strike so there is no footage of this great innings. What has the world missed?

2. Mohinder Amarnath’s all round show versus West Indies, 1983 World Cup final: When India lost Sunil Gavaskar early, Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath had to face a great fast bowling attack with its tail up. At one end, Kris Srikkanth did not care about reputation but just went after the bowling but at the other end Mohinder Amarnath was resolute. Once he got out with the score at 90, the batting just collapsed to set a target of 183. 183 on the board against a batting line up comprising Richards, Llyod, Greenidge, Haynes, Dujon looked a mere formality. With the top order back in the pavilion someone had to wipe out the tail and Jimmy did just that taking three wickets. No Indian fan will ever forget the moment he got Holding LBW that won India the World Cup.

3. Kapil’s running catch to dismiss Richards, 1983 World Cup final: A moment of brilliance that changed the course of Indian cricket. When Viv Richards came out to bat he looked in such a hurry. It looked like he wanted to go for an early dinner. With the score at 57 for 2 and his personal score at 33 of 27 balls he pulled Madan Lal over square leg. Everybody expected the ball to go to the boundary but Kapil Dev ran, covered a lot of ground and took the catch just above his shoulders. The commentators said “Ohh a great shot..But he is caught…brilliant by Kapil Dev.” Such was the catch that people at Lords also did not expect that it be taken. There were only two people who thought it would be taken, one is Kapil Dev himself and the other Viv Richards. In the background you can see Viv taking off his gloves as Kapil was running to take the catch. That catch not just dismissed one of the greats of the game but altered the history of Indian Cricket.

4. Yashpal Sharma’s 89 vs West Indies, Group Stage, 1983 World Cup: When I told my father that I was going to pick the top Indian performances at the World Cup he said don’t forget Yashpal Sharma’s knock against West Indies in 1983. My father is of the opinion that a lot of people tend to forget this knock and that it actually set the tone for India at that World Cup. I agree with him completely as I came to know about this knock only when I spoke to him today. When I saw the scorecard of this match, I realized that importance of this knock. When you could beat West Indies then, one believed that you could beat anybody and that is what this knock did. It gave India belief and inspiration as they beat the Caribbean Kings.

5. Indian batting versus England, 1983 World Cup semi final: The semi finals are considered the hardest to win and India were up against a strong England side at Manchester. The bowlers restricted England to 214 and it was left to the batsmen to win it from there. Gavaskar fell early but Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma (61 of 115 balls) and Sandeep Patil were focused on victory. Amarnath (46 runs of 92 balls) and Sharma steadied the innings and when the former got out, Sandeep Patil walked in. Patil played a T20 style knock in that match scoring 51 of 32 balls. The ranked outsiders were through to the finals.

6. Sachin Tendulkar’s 98 versus Pakistan, 2003 World Cup: A knock that the current generation would not forget and one that we won’t let anybody forget. In the second over of the game, three shots from the great man changed the psychological balance between the two sides. The upper cut, the flick behind square leg and the defensive push through mid on are still etched in memory. He really took the attack to the Pakistan attack which comprised of Akram, Waqar and Shoaib. Some of the shots he played left us breathless. I still remember Robin Jackman;s comments when Sachin hit Wasim through mid off of the back foot “OHH Ohh Ohh my goodness me.” When Waqar was hit through the covers, Jackman said “Ohh..How can a man who is five foot five hit it through there.” 270 was chased easily with the support of Kaif(35), Dravid(44) and Yuvraj(50).

7. Ashish Nehra’s 6 for 23 versus England at Durban, 2003 World Cup: Whoever won this game was assured of a place in the super sixes and both sides were pressing for it. Tendulkar gave India great start but they managed only 250. Ashish Nehra nearly did not play that game but he worked hard to regain fitness and was given the go. He came and extracted fantastic movement from the Durban wicket. Five of his six wickets were caught behind. All the six were frontline batsmen Hussain, Vaughan, Stewart, Collingwood, Irani and White. India were through.

8. Venkatesh Prasad’s five wicket haul against Pakistan, 1999 World Cup: This World Cup was a stop start affair for the Indians but when it comes to playing Pakistan nothing else matters. India set 220 odd on the board against an in form Pakistan. Prasad demolished them with a fiver leaving them with no chance of getting to the target.

9. Ajay Jadeja’s 45 of 25 balls versus Pakistan, 1996 World Cup: An India-Pakistan knockout game is always special. After Sidhu’s 93 laid down the platform for India Ajay Jadeja blitzkrieg at the end really turned the game in India’s favour. He was particularly sever on Waqar and waited for his inswinging Yorkers. One such Yorker was hit to mid wicket for maximum. Nobody would have been so severe on Waqar ever. No matter what happened later on, Jadeja’s name will be remembered for this knock.

10. Chetan Sharma’s Hat-trick versus New Zealand, 1987 World Cup: His hat trick reduced New Zealand to 221, a score that was easily chased. A hat trick is always special but when it comes in the World Cup it is even more so.

11. Sourav Ganguly’s 183 versus Sri Lanka at Taunton, 1999 World Cup: Both teams were going into the game with their stay in the tournament at stake. Ganguly’s partner Ramesh fell in the first over. In came Rahul Dravid whose 145 supported Ganguly in a partnership of 318. The Prince of Kolkata hit the spinners with ease all over the ground. It sealed Sri Lanka’s fate and gave India hope to progress to the super sixes.

12. Srinath, Zaheer and Nehra’s mauling of Sri Lanka at Johannesburg, 2003 World Cup: This is one of India’s best seam bowling performance in One Day Cricket. With 290 on the board India were looking for early breakthroughs. Srinath provided four of them, Zaheer chipped in with two and Nehra cleaned up the tail with four. They were bowled out under 20 overs which goes to show what the bowling would have been.

13. Rahul Dravid’s 145 versus Sri Lanka at Taunton, 1999 World Cup: Ganguly’s display overshadowed this great knock from “The Wall.” He took the singles, hit the boundaries and did not let the spinners settle. This knock was also worth its weight in gold.

14. Navjyot Singh Sidhu's sixes in the 1987 World Cup: When Sidhu made his debut in 1983 and was dropped soon after, he was described by a writer as a "strokeless wonder." He returned four years later in the 1987 World Cup and was hitting the ball out of the ground consistently. Spinners had no respite when he batted. That was the man's answer to the people who doubted his talent. India found a batsman who was to serve them well for another 12 years.