The Wounded Tiger – a masterful book written on Pakistani cricket by Peter Oborne – declared it the most famous shot in cricket history
The six from that Sharjah match not only haunted Chetan Sharma and the Indian cricket team, but also the entire nation for the 10 years that followed
[embed width="620"]http://www
dailymotion
com/video/x17agfl_javed-miandad-famous-last-ball-six-of-chetan-sharma_sport[/embed] Before Miandad’s wonder in Sharjah, India had an impressive record in ODI matches against Pakistan
Pakistan versus India before last-ball six: From Oct 01, 1978 to November 17, 1985 Matches played: 16 India won: 8 Pakistan won: 7 No result: 1 But things changed all of a sudden after the last-ball miracle
India, which had a slight edge over Pakistan, remained under immense pressure after that and the statistics are a testimony of that
Pakistan VS India, after the last-ball six: From April18, 1986 to March 09, 1996 Matches played: 26 Pakistan won: 20 India won: 5 No result: 1 The difference and impact is quite clear
India lost 20 matches out of 26 in the following 10 years and could win only five – and most of them were hard-fought victories
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Javed Miandad celebrates after winning the match with a six off the last ball
Photo: ESPNCricinfo[/caption] Chandrakant Pandit, in that particular match, defined the last moments of the game in an interview as follows: “I remember almost everyone came up to the pitch to discuss who should bowl the last over
We finally decided that Chetan’s extra pace and swing would prevent the batsmen from getting the runs
Tauseef Ahmed walked in and I heard Javed telling him: ‘Whatever happens, we have to run
Hit or miss
just run
’ The entire over was chaotic
Javed kept swinging wildly, and Mohammad Azharuddin missed a simple run-out
On the second-last ball, Javed got an inside edge and Roger Binny pulled off a superb stop down at short fine leg
They needed four to win off the last ball
I still remember how Javed looked up at the sky and prayed to Allah (swt)
Chetan’s plan was to bowl a yorker but it was a waist-high full-toss
None of us expected Javed to hit it out of the ground
And then we all felt a sort of blackout
It was like a funeral in the dressing room afterwards
Chetan was on the floor
None of us knew what to do for nearly an hour
Nobody looked at anyone; we all just sat with our chins down, thinking about the possibilities
We could hear the celebrations outside but it was extremely depressing inside
” Chetan Sharma, who was the third Indian to claim a wicket in his first over in a debut Test match, the first Indian to grab ten wickets against England in Birmingham, and the first bowler to take a hat-trick in any World Cup match, faced tough times after the match in Sharjah
After 25 years of the famous match-winning stroke by Miandad, Sharma admitted, “Yes, it haunts me even now and will haunt me for the rest of my life”
He further recalled, “Our captain in that match, Kapil Dev, and a few senior players like Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar came to me before the last delivery and encouraged me, but sadly I could not avoid delivering the full toss to Miandad and history was made”
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Cricinfo[/caption] On the other hand, Miandad has described the whole episode in his autobiography Cutting Edge with a different angle: “The Indians were together, excitedly talking strategy
The whole contest had been reduced to getting a four from the last ball
I came up with my own strategy
I was certain Sharma was going to attempt a yorker and aim for my legs
So I decided to stand well forward of the batting crease
My plan was to lean back, make room for myself and give it everything I had
It was going to be a slog
I was not out on 110 from 113 deliveries and was seeing the ball extremely well
I had confidence that if the ball came on to the bat, it would reach the boundary
I surveyed the field again
I knew exactly where every fielder was, but still I took another look around, counting off the fielders one by one
Nothing was going to be left to chance
I took my time, calmed my nerves, settled into my stance, and said a prayer
Poor Chetan Sharma
They say he did try for a yorker, but the ball slipped out of his hand
Or perhaps it was the fact that I was standing well forward of the batting crease that threw him off his length
Whatever the mysterious origins of that last delivery, it ended up being the perfect ball for me and for Pakistan – a full-toss at the right height, slightly towards leg, all I had to do was take a swing and it sailed out of the ground
After that, it was pandemonium
We had won, Pakistan had won, Tauseef had won, I had won
” Seeing the glory that Pakistan has had, it’s obviously disheartening to see the team play like the way it is in the current World Cup
While we don’t have a Miandad to save us this time, we need to find a way to get that glory back
We need another last-ball miracle for Pakistan to reign on the game once again
| Date: | 04-Mar-2015 | Reference: | View Original Link |
|---|