Apart from movies, love cricket too, and this article is to focus on some great knocks by Indian cricketers. Now when I say, great knocks I am not taking into account, the 200’s and 300’s made on flat pitches, or those played for records. These knocks are what I call great, coz they were made when the conditions were really tough. They might not have been raining sixes and fours, but for sheer character they just stand out. So here goes.
1) Sunil Gavaskar’s 96 at Bangalore(1987) vs Pakistan- Sunil is regarded as one of the world’s greatest batsman. Watch this innings and you would understand why. The rain affected pitch was a minefield, and the Pakistani spinners Tausif Ahmed and Shoaib Mallik were spinning the ball viciously. None could predict where the ball was pitching, and it was akin to fighting among bullets. Thats where Sunil stood out, as he negotiated the bowling, wore it down, and stood like Cassabianca on the burning deck. It was a text book example of how to play on wearing out pitch. All our present day superstars who crib about the pitches, should watch this, to see how to play in a Test Match. It was Gavaskar’s last match and what an innings to retire with.
2) Kapil Dev’s 114 at Chennai(1986) vs Australia-India is in danger of following on, in reply to Australia’s mammoth first Innings total of 540+. Half of the batting is back in the pavilion. And what does our man, Kapil Dev, do.Simple fight fire with fire. I had the privilege of watching this innings on TV, when the one day mania had not yet set, and boy what an innings it was. He simply charged at the Aussie bowlers, hammering them all over the park. Reid, McDermott, Matthews had no answer as he just sent every delivery of theirs to the line. It was akin to watching a Roman gladiator taking on his competitors and fighting them like a charged tiger. The Test was also notable for Dean Jones great double century and Gavaskar’s 90 in the run chase.
3) Dilip Vengsarkar’s 120 at Leeds(1986) vs England: Another seaming pitch at Leeds, where the ball was seaming and swinging nastily. Dilip was noted for his elegant style of batting, but he was also one of the best players of fast bowling in Indian side. And most importantly, in a team known to show the white flag to pace bowling, he along with Mohinder Amarnath, used to really take the bull by horns. This was another great innings by Dilip, following his century at Lords, where he became the only Indian to score 3 centuries there.
4) Sachin Tendulkar’s 140 at Perth(1991) vs Australia: Playing at Perth is not the easiest of tasks, considering its one of the fastest pitches in the world. Matches have been known to finish here in 2-3 days. And when ur still a raw teenager, and facing an attack of Merv Hughes, Bruce Reid and Craig McDermott, backed up by a partisan crowd and of course having to face constant sledging by the Aussies, it is still daunting. But guess Sachin could not be counted among the normal guys. For this was a cracker of an innings on a dangerous wicket, where he simply met fire with fire. This innings showed that Sachin had the calibre to take on the best bowling attacks of the world. And this innings is even more worthy, when u consider that most of his colleagues simply fled with the tail between their legs.