An odds-defying English victory

da bet sport： When India faced off against England in the Reliance Cup semifinal inBombay in November 1987, rarely could they have taken the field in anODI with so many factors in their favour

Partab Ramchand28-Jan-2002

When India faced off against England in the Reliance Cup semifinal atBombay in November 1987, rarely could they have taken the field in aone-day international with so many factors in their favour. Thedefending champions, they were playing at home, had won fivesuccessive games, and were up against opponents who had manylimitations. Pakistan had beaten England twice in the group matches,and everything pointed to India registering a one-sided victory.Kapil Dev won the toss and sent England in to bat. Graham Goochdominated the scoring from the start, but India still claimed twowickets for 79 in 22 overs. Mike Gatting then joined Gooch and the twoadded 117 runs for the third wicket in 19 overs. Both batsmen adoptedthe bold policy of sweeping and pulling the two left-arm spinnersManinder Singh and Ravi Shastri. As future events proved, this was themajor turning point.Gatting on 56 finally swept Maninder onto his leg-stump; he faced 62balls and hit five fours. In his following over, Maninder removedGooch as well, but the opening batsman had scored 115 off 136 ballswith 11 boundaries. Allan Lamb countered the double blow by hitting anunbeaten 32 off 29 balls, and England were able to post a highlyrespectable 254 for six in 50 overs.India suffered an early blow when Philip DeFreitas bowled SunilGavaskar (4) with the total on 7. This was to be Gavaskar’s lastappearance for India in international cricket. KrishnamachariSrikkanth (31) and Navjot Singh Sidhu (22) put the innings back ontrack with a second-wicket partnership of 51 runs. The run-rate,however, could not be improved, thanks to accurate bowling andbrilliant fielding, and neither Srikkanth (55 balls) and Sidhu (40balls) managed a single boundary. Neil Foster removed both and, at 73for three, India were in some trouble. But Mohammad Azharuddin andChandrakant Pandit (in for Dilip Vengsarkar) initiated a recoveryprocess by adding 48 runs for the fourth wicket. After Pandit (24)became Foster’s third victim, Azharuddin and Kapil gave a fillip tothe scoring rate with a flurry of strokes.At 168 for four, India seemed well on course to victory. BothAzharuddin and Kapil were settled, there was plenty of batting tocome, and the required run-rate was below six an over. There was noneed for any mock heroics, but it was at this stage that Kapilexecuted a stroke he was to regret all is life. Carried away by hisown impetuosity, the Indian captain, who had hit 30 out of the fifthwicket partnership of 47, heaved Eddie Hemmings high and straight toGatting who had just then stationed himself on the mid-wicketboundary.In retrospect, this shot cost India the match. Even though Azharuddinand Shastri took the score to 204 before the sixth wicket fell, theIndians were strangely directionless. Hemmings, who had been hit byAzharuddin and Pandit for 27 runs from his first three overs, nowstruck back with a vengeance. He had Azharuddin leg-before for 64 (74balls, seven fours). Shastri was still determination personified, butpanic and recklessness now set in. With five wickets gone and 10 oversin hand, India were looking for five runs an over. But in a flash,Kiran More (0), Manoj Prabhakar (4) and Chetan Sharma (0) left, andShastri too finally gave in. When on 21, he swung at Hemmings,resulting in a skier that was gratefully accepted by wicket-keeperPaul Downton.Astonishingly, India lost their last five wickets for 15 runs in fiveovers, and the end came with a suddenness that was shattering for thepacked Wankhede stadium crowd, as well as millions watching ontelevision all over the world, to stomach. Hemmings, who had looked soinnocuous initially, took four for 21 in 34 balls and England,scarcely believing their good fortune, trooped out exultant victors by35 runs.