AUSTRALIA
v INDIA
CHIDAMBARAM
STADIUM, CHEPAUK, MADRAS,
9
OCTOBER 1987
 |
| Ice Man Steve Waugh celebrating the nail-biting one-run win over India. |
There
was great excitement all around Chepauk as the reigning champions took on Australia
on home turf. As many as six players had survived from Kapil Dev’s 1983 winning
squad, while the solitary Aussie link to the previous World Cup was skipper
Allan Border. In other words, here was a home team brimming with confidence,
ready to take on a relatively inexperienced side which was not expected to give
a very tough fight.
As the game got under way it gradually
dawned upon the partisans that this was a very determined Australian team.
David Boon and Geoff Marsh put on a century partnership for the first wicket.
Then Marsh combined with the belligerent Dean Jones, and took the score to 174.
Marsh carried on calmly and notched up his
third century in One-day Internationals. He took his side to a formidable
position even though they lost a few wickets towards the end trying to
accelerate the scoring. During the interval, adjudicator Hanif Mohammad
converted a four into a six. This was to prove decisive. A total of 270 in 50
overs was a very large one by any standard and had the home supporters worried.
Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari
Srikkanth, however, gave a flying start. For once Gavaskar outscored his
unorthodox big-hitting partner. The crowd went into raptures as the legendary
Gavaskar and local boy Srikkanth treated the attack with disdain. When Gavaskar
fell, 69 runs had been put up on the board. His place was taken by Navjot Singh
Sidhu whose clean hitting had been a revelation in the run-up to the
tournament. Soon he began carrying his new-found reputation forward. Srikkanth
and Sidhu butchered the bowling and, suddenly, 271 did not seem an unattainable
target.
Srikkanth was leg-before for 70, but that
only let Sidhu loose. With the experienced Dilip Vengsarkar playing in mature
fashion at the other end, Sidhu attacked with gusto. He hit five towering sixes
which created a carnival atmosphere in the stadium. At 207 for two, victory
seemed just a few big blows away.
That was when India began to mess it up.
The Australians kept cool and bowled intelligently. Their fielding was outstanding.
Wickets crashed at regular intervals. In the panic, there were two needless run
outs at crucial stages. Soon the score was 265 for nine.
There were six runs left as Steve Waugh
began the final over to last man Maninder Singh. Suddenly the tied Test played
between the two teams at the same ground a year earlier flashed into everyone’s
mind. In that Test too, Maninder had been the batsman in the firing line. He
managed four runs off the first four balls. The excitement was unbelievable.
Two runs were needed, and there were two balls left with one wicket in hand.
But it was Waugh who kept his head and was bang on target.
Maninder was bowled off the fifth ball.
Waugh was nonchalant: "It was just a confidence thing. Allan Border
thought I could do it. I knew I could do it." India had lost by a solitary
run. For the second time running the reigning champions had been beaten in
their opening encounter.
Australia : 270 for 6 wickets (50 overs)
India : 269 all out (49.5 overs)
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted
on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
Follow
his blogs:
Indra
Vikram Singh’s books are available at attractive prices on Amazon:
The
Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011
Published
in India by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-4-3
Crowning
Glory
Published
by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-6-7
Don’s
Century
Published
in India by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-5-0
A
Maharaja’s Turf
Published
in India by Sporting Links
ISBN
978-81-901668-3-6
Indra Vikram Singh’s forthcoming books:
Indian Spring, on India’s triumph in the
cricket World Cup 2011
Wonder Down Under, special souvenir on the cricket World Cup 2015
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