A match to remember (2 February 1999)

2 February 1999

A match to remember

Tawfiq Aziz Khan

Pakistan snatched a sensational victory from India at Chennai. For India it was a miss between the cup and the lip. For four days the spectators at Chidambaram Stadium and millions of TV viewers sat on the edge of their seats biting nails as the men in flannels fought out a ding-dong battle for supremacy. The traditional rivalry between these two neighbours in every aspect of life touched the dizzy heights Sunday as members of both the teams were hell-bent to wrench victory. The competition was so fierce that neither side asked for quarters as they knew no quarters would be given.

As it is, the normal rivalry or attempts to come out on top in any sporting contest between these two countries draws tremendous interest and attention of people all over the sub-continent. And a cricket match between the two in either country is the apex of their dream. For four eventful days all eyes were glued to the Chennai stadium (once known as Chepauk), where the Pakistanis first played against India in the 1952-53 series under Abdul Hafiz Kardar and almost brought about their second Test victory had not rain intervened. But the experts who predicted a lot many runs on this wicket and harped on winning a 'good toss' were soon proved wrong to the extent that the help the bowlers got from the surface made life miserable for the batsmen. This was no batsman's paradise. Except for the second session of the fourth day, the picture was different, the context too. Almost 12 years have passed since Pakistan played their last Test on Indian soil, that at Bangalore when they won by a narrow margin of 16 runs.

Proving the pundits wrong, the match took an interesting turn right from the first day. Tendulkar and Mongia toiled hard for survival and refused to be intimidated as bowlers held the whiphand. The contest was very dramatic and, at times so uneven, that only 1036 runs were scored in four days at a cost of 40 wickets. So, the pitch was no featherbed.

In the first session Anil Kumble, who can hardly turn the ball, became unplayable. Saqlain Mushtaq, dubbed by experts as arguably the finest off-spinner in the game today, used his skill and wit accounting for half the Indian side that included the little master Tendulkar in both innings. When everything looked rosy in the garden, Venkatesh Prasad, an unseemly customer, upset the Pakistan applecart. Even a quickfire century by Shahid Afridi, his first in two Tests, could not take Pakistan past 300. As the target remained within grasp of a strong Indian batting lineup, the contest became fierce. A 'wounded' Waqar Younis spat venom and quickly removed the Indian openers. But Sachin and Dravid survived some torrid moments against the Pakistani 'speed duo', the two W's.

Those who saw the fourth day dawning with Wasim Akram bowling to Dravid and Tendulkar must consider themselves extremely lucky, because they, in near future, may not see such masterly pace bowling in any form of the game. Only Dravid and Tendulkar can vouch for the brilliance, the bite, the variety and the hostility of the spell. With luck Tendulkar survived but Dravid perished. He was bowled by a delivery that clipped his off-stump through bat and pad - a delivery all pacemen will dream of but hardly able to serve. Sunil Gavaskar was right when he reminded the viewers that Sir Don Bradman saw the reflection of his younger days in Sachin Tendulkar and considered Wasim Akram as the best left-arm bowler in the game. And we were lucky to be watching these two against each other in a fierce contest. Tendulkar survived but not by merit alone. The morning session must have been a scintillating experience for the players as well as the viewers and spectators. Pakistan's sensational collapse after tea on the third day almost negated all the good work done by young Afridi, Inzamam, Youhana and Malik. Prasad returned with his career-best bowling figures and India were comfortably placed to achieve a win in more than two days. A sudden rush of blood saw both Mongia and Tendulkar committing grave mistakes and the rejuvenated Pakistanis picked up the last four wickets for only four runs. A historic win for the spirited Pakistanis after their dismal showing in recent Tests against Zimbabwe and Australia.

Gavaskar looked distraught after the match. His piece of advice was indirectly aimed at Sachin Tendulkar, who had left the field with pain in the back. He left the crease at a crucial time when his team needed only 16 runs with four wickets in hand. He had done his job extremely well. How should he know his teammates will fail to achieve such a small target? But that is the beauty of cricket. Gavaskar must have been remembering his own innings at Bangalore as he was caught at slips from an innocuous delivery only four short of which could have been one of his best Test hundreds. India lost that Test by 16 runs. Gavaskar should have won it for India.

Most of us had seen may Test matches in our lifetime but I can hardly recount one which was so poorly supervised. The umpires, specially Steve Dunn from New Zealand, proved more than once, how inane he was. Ejaz Ahmed's clean caught and bowled and Saurav Ganguly's catch by Moin Khan, apart from a number of controversial leg-before decisions, are examples that can be cited here. Azharuddin, Saqlain, Inzamam, Ejaz and Saeed are all victims of poor judgment. The other umpire was no angel either but he was more consistent in his decisions. The umpires were responsible for spoiling this Test match and it is hoped we will not see them at Delhi.

I shall be failing in my job if I do not congratulate the crowd at Chennai. Once again they have proved that spectators are the heart and soul of any game and a good crowd can take a game to the point of unblemished entertainment.

It was a match to remember.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)