Pakistan vs India, Wills World Cup 2nd quarterfinal, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, March 9, 1996
India won by 39 runs
Mind you, Sidhu hadn’t quite set the 1996 World Cup on fire going into that game, and appeared understandably circumspect against a tad depleted Pakistan bowling attack - because of the controversy-tinged injury blow of Wasim Akram.
Published: Mar 05, 2011, 08:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 05, 2011, 08:29 PM (IST)
Navjot Singh Sidhu top-scored for India with a well-paced 93 against Pakistan at Bangalore
Pakistan vs India, Wills World Cup 2nd quarterfinal, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, March 9, 1996
India won by 39 runs
A lot is at stake when India-Pakistan face-off in a cricket match, and when it happens to be a World Cup quarter-final, it is much, much more than that. The Chinnaswamy Stadium was bubbling with excitement as Navjot Singh Sidhu strode out to open the innings with Sachin Tendulkar.
Clearly, the onus was on the openers to provide India a solid stand if they were to justify Mohammad Azharuddin’s decision to bat first after calling correctly. And in Sidhu, India found one who could keep their innings going.
Mind you, Sidhu hadn’t quite set the 1996 World Cup on fire going into that game, and appeared understandably circumspect against a tad depleted Pakistan bowling attack – because of the controversy-tinged injury blow of Wasim Akram.
It was a battle of attrition out there as the Pakistan bowlers didn’t allow the Indian openers to get off to a flier, though it’s a different matter altogether that they were deprived of an early breakthrough.
Sidhu conquered whatever Pakistan bowlers threw at him early on and constructed a well-paced innings in which aggression was the answer when a bad ball was on offer, while at the same time no opportunity was missed to keep the scoreboard ticking over with ones and twos.
In fact, it wouldn’t be a far-fetched to suggest that Sidhu was chiefly responsible for laying the foundation of the Indian innings which later served as the perfect springboard for Ajay Jadeja to launch a sensational assault at the death.
Sidhu’s hold fort innings meant that India didn’t suffer a top-order slide after Tendulkar played-on to Ata-ur Rehman with the score on 90.
We all know Sidhu’s extra josh when the spinners come on to bowl; he derives great joy in giving the tweakers the charge. One such shot got the Bangalore crowd excited when he banged leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed over the extra-cover boundary.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, who figured in that high-pitched clash, recalls Sidhu’s determined knock. “Sidhu batted out of his skin that day. He held the Indian innings together. I never saw Sidhu bat so aggressively before against us.”
Sidhu’s innings provided the launchpad for the middle-order to put up a score of 287 for eight in 50 overs and later paved the way for a 39-run win. His innings was brought to an end when Mushtaq foxed him with a flipper, seven short of what would have been a well-deserved century.
Pakistan were restricted to 248 for nine off 49 overs (one over was docked because of slow over-rate) in a game which happened to be the last international of wily fox Javed Miandad.
Pictures © Getty Images
