WEST INDIES SCRIPT HISTORY

 

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Venue- Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan [January 2025].

On Monday, January 27, at Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan, the West Indies crushed Pakistan by 120 runs on Day 3 of the second Test. With his second five-wicket haul of his Test career, Jomel Warrican was the visitor's star. The left-arm spinner caused a stunning collapse in the first session itself by spinning a web around Pakistan's batters and recording statistics of 5/27 in 16 overs.

Pakistan won the first Test by a margin of 127 runs, although Warrican, the player of the match, gave the hosts a taste of their own medicine on sharply spinning pitch with nine wickets in the match and 19 in the series. After going winless on their tours in 1997 and 2006, the West Indies last triumphed in a Test match in Pakistan in November 1990 at Faisalabad wherein Desmond Haynes was the captain. So, it was quite a special win for the visitors as the series ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Saud Shakeel was the key to Pakistan's victory when they resumed at 76-4 and were chasing 254, but Kevin Sinclair put the left-hander in the slip for 13 to severely hurt the home team's waning hopes. Pakistan was swept out for 133, with Babar Azam scoring the highest at 31 and Mohammad Rizwan at 25.

With the loss, the West Indies ended eighth in the World Test Championship standings, while Pakistan fell to ninth and last. The teams which once used to dominate the world cricket are now reeling in the bottom position. How the Mighty have fallen. 

THE DESERT STORM

 

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Venue- Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah [April 22, 1998].

One of cricket's most famous performances took place in the scorching heat of April 1998 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. This series would later be dubbed "Desert Storm."  Cricketing legends were being created at the moment, and Sachin Tendulkar gave a performance that would go down in the history books.  India's cricketing great, Sachin Tendulkar, achieved his peak with a brilliant innings of 143 off 130 balls against the finest in the world in the middle of a desert where temperatures soar that the heat can be felt through shoes and socks. For Indian cricket fans, Tendulkar's magnificent performance is still remembered 27 years after.

The game was a part of the Coca-Cola Cup, which is a triangular series between Australia, New Zealand, and India. Prior to this game, New Zealand had only won one of their four games and appeared to be eliminated from the tournament, with net run rate serving as their only remaining hope. India had only won one of their previous three games. Australia had won all three of its games, earning a spot in the finals. For India, the game was crucial since a win would guarantee their place as Australia's opponents in the championship match. The net run rate might have destroyed the Men in Blue's prospects of winning the trophy in the event of a defeat.

Even though Venkatesh Prasad scored 2/41 in his 8 overs, Australia ultimately built up a daunting total of 284 for 7 in their 50 overs. One of the best finishers in history, Michael Bevan, helped the Australians to a high total with 101 off 103 balls.

Tendulkar responded with what is considered to be one of the greatest knocks ever made in a One-Day International. Tendulkar attacked everyone and spared no one in the face of a strong Australian attack that included players like Shane Warne, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Fleming, and Tom Moody.

That day, Sharjah was attacked by two sand storms: the real one that stopped play and gave India a revised target of 276 in 46 overs, and the symbolic one that came off Sachin's bat and nearly destroyed the powerful Australians. Fleming completed a masterclass with an innings of 143 off 131, but Tendulkar was unable to lead India over the finish line, as India's scoreboard read 242/5. Although India required 34 runs from 18 balls to win the match, the remaining batters were only able to score 8 runs in the final 3 overs, giving Australia a 26-run victory. However, his 143 off 131 increased India's net run rate, giving them an advantage over the Kiwis, as New Zealand is known, and if Australia were to sweep the points table with four straight victories, even India would have a chance to compete against the powerful Aussies for the Coca-Cola Trophy. India advanced to the championship finals thanks to an increase in their net-run rate.

On April 24, Tendulkar's 25th birthday, the final was held. In their 50 overs, Australia managed to reach a score of 272/9. On his birthday, Tendulkar produced another outstanding performance, chasing down the target in 48.3 overs and winning the Coca-Cola Cup with 134 off 131 deliveries. Tendulkar's exploits during the Sharjah series are frequently regarded as some of the best in one-day cricket history. His innings demonstrated both his skill and his capacity to perform well under duress. Tendulkar is still regarded as one of the best cricket players of all time, and the "Desert Storm" serves as a reminder of his brilliance. Last but not least, Tony Greig's analysis during this game made this inning sound like a masterpiece. 

To watch the Highlights of that Innings, Click Here.  

THE RETURN OF THE KING

 

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Venue- Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi [January-February, 2025].

On 30th January, 2025 the mood in the Arun Jaitley Stadium was nothing short of a festival. There were injuries attempting to enter (a Ranji group match), yet admission was free! and 4 am became a consensus in conjecture regarding the start time of the line. At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the excitement was palpable as Virat Kohli made his 12-year comeback to domestic cricket. When Delhi played Railways in the Ranji Trophy, fans flocked to the stands to watch the star batter in action.  

After Delhi decided to bowl first, Kohli was in a good mood and acknowledged the sea of fans as he fielded. On Day 2, it was his turn to bat. As the former India skipper made his approach to the middle, roaring applause erupted when Yash Dhull was dismissed by Rahul Sharma in the 24th over. However, Virat Kohli, India's great batsman, only managed to score 6 runs off of 15 balls in the first innings of the Delhi vs. Railways match. Thus his Ranji Trophy comeback didn't go as expected. Himanshu Sangwan of the Railways undid Kohli with a beauty of a delivery that sent the batter's off-stump soaring. With the dismissal, Kohli's terrible form took yet another unimpressive hit.

In the 28th over, he drove a delivery right down the ground for four, displaying his trademark stroke play. It was more of a forced shot than a powerful straight drive, though, and was a far cry from the precise execution that fans are accustomed to from Kohli. As he cautiously prodded at deliveries, his troubles outside the off-stump, which were reminiscent of his previous issues against Australia, reappeared.

Even though Kohli did not perform well, but his team did as they blew away the Railways by an innings and 19 runs. Furthermore at the end of second day's play Kohli was awarded by the Delhi Cricket Association for his contribution in Test Cricket. Though it would have been wonderful had Kohli scored a ton, but even his presence on the ground brought cheer in the face of his people. Everyone was glued to a Ranji Group Match till the time Kohli was on the ground. 

THE LEGEND OF JASPRIT BUMRAH

 

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Rarely has been a moment wherein a 5 Match Test Series was remembered for the heroics of a single individual player. The 1981 Ashes is dubbed as the Botham's Ashes, whereas the Ashes of 2005 is often linked with the heroics of Andrew Flintoff. Apart from that the Border Gavaskar Trophy of 2014-15 is one such series which is remembered for the clash of two superstars of the game- Steve Smith and Virat Kohli. Both of them scored tons of runs in that epic encounter and cemented their place in history. 

The recently concluded 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is one such series which will always be remembered for just one cricketer and that is Jasprit Bumrah. The performance which he delivered is something beyond words. Furthermore, he also captained India in the first and the last test of the series which was as fine as his bowling. It was literally Bumrah versus Australia. 

In a Series wherein Indian Bowlers were struggling to pick wickets, Bumrah did it comfortably. Every time he took ball in his hand it seemed that a wicket is around the corner. It is pertinent to note that Bumrah played all the 5 Tests of the Series and ended up picking 32 wickets at an average of just above 13. He literally performed in each and every venue of the Series. It was quite unfortunate that he suffered an injury on the second day of the fifth test or else the result of the series could have been 2-2. 

Interestingly apart from his lethal bowling he also contributed with the bat. The last wicket partnership which he had with Akash Deep was instrumental in avoiding the follow on at the Gabba. It was literally a marvelous performance by our generational talent. Even though he failed to win the series for India, but his performance will be remembered for the ages.  

To watch the spells of Jasprit Bumrah, Click Here. 

To watch the Opening Spell of Jasprit Bumrah in Perth, Click Here. 

THE CLASS OF LITTLE MASTER

 

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Venue- County Ground, Chelmsford [July 13-15, 2007].

The Australians have regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they have won the 5 Match Test Series 3-1. After losing the first test at Perth, the Hosts made a strong comeback as they blew away the Visitors in Adelaide and dominated against them in the remaining 3 matches of the series. The Indians fell short in ever department and thus lost a Test Series in Australia after 10 long years. Since we have now failed to make it into the WTC Finals, so the questions are now being raised that why we failed. The answer to the same is that we didn't have a strong bowling line-up, and we were overdependent on Bumrah. Secondly, we didn't play much tour games to adapt ourselves in the Australian surroundings. Thirdly our star players missed domestic tournaments due to which they were short of practice, and it cost us on big time. 

However, this was not the situation before as the cricketers of yesteryears not only played Ranji Trophy Games but also played a lot of Tour Games to adjust themselves in foreign conditions. The Legendary Sachin Tendulkar was one such cricketer who did everything to be game ready before such big tours. In the Year 2007, Indian Cricket Team toured England to play 3 Tests and 7 ODIs. In addition to that Indians were supposed to play an ODI against Ireland in Ireland, 3 ODIs against South Africa in Ireland and also 1 ODI against Scotland in Scotland. So, it was a very big tour. Interestingly it ended up as one of the most successful overseas tours as we won the ODIs against Ireland and Scotland. Furthermore, we also won the Series against South Africa 2-1. Unfortunately, we lost the 7 match ODI series against England 3-4 but were successful in winning the 3 Match Test Series 1-0 after 21 long years.  So why were we successful back then? The answer to the same is proper practice and training. We played sufficient tour games due which we were game ready when the actual series started. 

It is interesting to note that in one of the tour games against England Lions we were struggling as the Indian scorecard read 2/2 in response to Lion's 413. However, this is when we saw one of the finest knocks of the Great Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master scored a magnificent 171 of just 236 deliveries (23 Boundaries and 1 Six) and took his team out of crisis. Furthermore, the elegance with which he batted that day made everyone go gaga. The shots he played were properly timed and placed. The God of Cricket was literally at his absolute best. 

It is pertinent to note that it was only due to his monumental innings the Indians ended up posing 383 in their first innings. The Match eventually ended in a draw, but it did give us a lot of confidence as we went out and scripted history in the Pataudi Trophy. 

In the month of June, we will be touring England for a 5 Match Test Series. Hence, one can only hope that the Indians will take a lesson from the past and will not repeat the same mistake which did they did in Australia. 

To watch the innings of Sachin Tendulkar, Click Here. 

THIS IS EXPLOSIVE CRICKET

 

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Venue- Trent Bridge, Nottingham [June 19, 2018].

  In the summer of 2018, the Australian cricket team toured England to play 5 ODIs and 1 T20 International. The hosts won the first two ODIs comfortably, and the action now shifted to Nottinghamshire. In a must-win game Australian Captain Tim Paine won the toss and elected to field first. The same was done because it was quite difficult to comprehend what could be a winning total on this batting paradise. As a result, they decided to go for the chase. However, what followed next was something truly unbelievable. The English batsmen came out all guns blazing upon the Aussie attack. They went for a kill from the very first ball as openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow shared a first-wicket partnership of 159 runs in just 19 overs. 

Jason Roy scored a quickfire 82 off just 61 deliveries. His innings comprised 7 boundaries and 4 massive sixes. However, the attack was not one-sided. Even Bairstow was hitting with the same flair as Roy. The duo of Bairstow and Roy literally made a mess of the Aussie bowling line-up as every bowler went for runs. To be honest, it was quite unfortunate that Roy got run out and thus missed a well-deserved hundred. However, Bairstow and Alex Hales continued from where Roy left. Both of them scored massive hundreds against the arch-rivals as England ended up posting 481 in their 50 overs. Bairstow scored 139 off 92 deliveries, whereas Alex Hales scored 147 off 92 deliveries. Apart from them, Captain Morgan also scored a brilliant 67 off just 30 deliveries. It was literally raining boundaries that day in Nottingham. The visitors looked helpless in front of the hosts. 

Chasing 482 was never going to be an easy task for the Aussies, as maintaining a run rate of 9.6 for the entire 50 overs is close to impossible. Even though they started off pretty well, they crumbled in between as English continued picking up wickets at regular intervals. At last, the Visitors were bowled out for just 239 runs in 37 overs. The English won the game by a massive 242 runs and took a 3-0 lead in the 5-match series.

It was an act of complete domination on the part of Hosts. This was well and truly explosive cricket. 

  

To watch the Highlights of the English Innings, Click Here.

To watch the Highlights of the Entire Match, Click Here. 

THE LEGEND OF SACHIN TENDULKAR

 

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Venue- Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi [March 16, 2004].

It was the summer of 2004. The Indian cricket team toured Pakistan to play 5 ODIs and 3 Tests. The Indians won the first ODI by the barest of margins, and the action now shifted to Rawalpindi. Pakistani Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like a batting paradise. The hosts got off to an explosive start as Shahid Afridi and Yasir Hameed shared an opening partnership of 138 runs in just 18 overs. The decision to bat first turned out to be right. 

Eventually Yuvraj Singh made the important breakthrough in the 19th over of the innings as he bowled Afridi out for 80. However, the Pakistanis continued with their attacking style of cricket and ended up scoring 329 in their 50 overs. Yasir Hameed scored the highest, 86, whereas Nehra and Yuvraj picked up 3 and 2 wickets, respectively.

Indians now needed 330 runs in 50 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the series. It was not going to be an easy task. Pakistanis had some of the most lethal bowlers the game of cricket has ever seen. However, Indians too had an explosive batting line-up. So, it was rightly the clash of the titans. And boy! What a display of cricket we saw that evening! Sachin Tendulkar, who was at the peak of his powers, scored a scintillating 141 off just 135 deliveries. His innings comprised 17 boundaries and 1 six. It was just a treat to watch as he played proper cricketing shots against the best bowling attack. It was indeed a classic knock played under extreme pressure. 

Shoaib Akhtar, who was playing on his home ground, was bowling at a lightning pace. In a spell of 9 overs, he conceded 49 runs and picked up 3 crucial wickets, including the wicket of Virender Sehwag. However, he failed to get past the Little Master. Unfortunately, no other Indian batsman managed to get past 50, as we were bowled out for 317 runs. The hosts won the match by 12 runs and levelled the series 1-1. 

However, despite ending in the losing cause, this knock of Sachin Tendulkar will forever be remembered by cricket fans across the globe.

To watch the knock of Sachin Tendulkar, Click Here.