Sixers From The Past!

Cricket has seen many stars emerge to stardom, and then recede into the deep recesses of oblivion. Some just came up, took a look and conquered, while others had to face the music of Brutus on the very first day. History is cruel, and so are we. Like history let us all also forget about the first day martyrs and talk about living Caesars…

This article recounts the untold stories behind some sterling performances which we have witnessed over the years. Enough has been written over these flashes of brilliance, but I am sure the behind-the-scene stories are yet to be told. Not to say that these would diminish or eclipse the splendor of those achievements, but would surely make for interesting reading for the cricket tsunamiites.

Let’s stroll down memory lane, and re-visit the multinational cup being played at Nairobi gymkhana, Nairobi Kenya….

Pakistan need to beat Srilanka to make it to the finals. But any belligerent plans are offset by the news of skipper Wasim Akram’s father’s illness and his subsequent departure for Pakistan.
The team management contacts the Board and asks for a replacement, the obvious and unanimous choice is not also available….busy getting married.

Now the team management is in a fix…who do they call to fill in? Haroon Rashid, the manager of the Pak U-19 team, on tour in the West Indies, calls up the manager of the national team and says he has a few youngsters with him with promise…he is asked to send in the only all-rounder.

That 16 year old flies in to join the team and is taken straight to the nets, and the way that man thrashes Waqar Younis and the other bowlers with aplomb amazes the great burewala express.
Waqar Younis, insists upon his inclusion into the next crunch game against Srilanka…but the stand-in skipper Saeed Anwar is not willing to risk him…he said quite candidly that this was an inexperienced guy and merely hitting in the nets does not mean that he would be good at the live game as well. Waqar Younis said, "None can hit me like that in the nets as well skipper”. That sentence seals his inclusion in the side.

On the day of the match, Waqar Younis gives that youngster a few tips and a very special gift…a bat personally used by Sachin Tendulkar that Sachin presented to Waqar sometime back for knocking him over 4 times in a row in a Sahara Cup match.

That boy goes out to hit with that bat used by the maestro.

And as the cliche goes, the rest is history. As soon as that boy stepped to the crease all hell broke loose…a floodgate of sixes was opened up that drowned the fate of the hapless and bedazzled Lankans……

After hitting 11 scud-like, towering sixes and 6 fours in a matter of 45 minutes that kid created history. Winning the game was only one part.

Yes, I am talking about Shahid Afridi. It was Sachin’s bat he used in that game and hit that hundred.

Let us go into flashback. Now we are in May 1997. The stage is Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chennai.

Pakistan are again in a must-win position….they need to beat India at their home ground to reach the final of a series. The buildup to the game is huge…and with Wasim and Waqar both missing the tournament, Pakistani bowling looks depleted and impotent. The onus lies on the batsman to deliver and win the game.

Rameez Raja, the Pakistani captain, has bought a bat the evening before from some shop in downtown Chennai to use in the game. He played with it in the nets before the game and found it to be a good piece of willow. Opener Saeed Anwar who is yet to score decently in the tournament walks upto him and asks him to let him use the bat as his gear is in the room. Rameez gives him the bat.

Saeed plays with it and finds it to be useful. He wants to continue with the same bat. Rameez, being a generous man, accedes to the request and lets him use it.

The game begins and Saeed goes out Rameez's bat….and again history is created….he goes on and on and on to score a mammoth 194, the highest individual innings score for any batsman in the history of one day cricket; the win was just a formality.

As a token of appreciation, Rameez gifts that bat to Saeed Anwar. Several years later, while sitting comfortably in his chair on the plush lawns of a military golf club situated in a leading hill resort, Saeed Anwar recounts a page from the past, while sipping coffee and a smile on his face.
Let us continue with another page from history. The stage is yet again India…this time the city is Kolkata, the famous Eden Gardens.

The last test match has been won by Indians and Pakistan needs to win the match to take the lead and win the opening match of the inaugural Asian test championship….Pakistan are disappointed with Waqar Younis’ performance so far. They have a back up in a young Shoaib Akhtar…but according to Wasim his attitude is not ideal and he doubted whether he has the focus to get only a single test batsman out. But after much debate the team management goes for Shoaib.

Pakistan score 175 in their first innings. Indians in response are on a roll with Ramesh and Rahul Dravid going strong and milking Pakistani bowlers for runs. Wasim, out of sheer frustration, asks a rookie fast bowler called ”Allah lok” by the teammates (for his bizarre attitude towards life) to take up the attack. That man has been bragging since morning that he would get Tendulkar out today much to the chagrin of the skipper, who does not like tall talk followed with no work… Wasim says, “Yaar pehlay is ku tu faarigh karo” indicating towards Dravid who is standing like a rock.

That guy runs in and hurls a thunderbolt at Dravid. Poor Dravid had to decide in a fraction of a second, either to save his stumps or lose his toe forever; he loses his stumps and is able to walk back safely towards the dressing room. A huge roar erupts. Tendulkar is on the field….so much anticipation…so much expectation…what a build-up to the grand finale….

That rookie has something else on his mind. He plans to bite India from the same hole for the second consecutive time. He rushes in, and fires yet another scud at medullar. Instinctively, Tendulkar moves forward, but instead of the rhythmical music of ball hitting the willow, he hears the dreaded crash of ball smashing the stumps. That was the only sound he heard that moment.

You may have seen 100,000 people speak up at once or to observe a minute’s silence, but that silence was spontaneous….all fell silent as if the wind had been taken out of their sails, their hopes dashed, their fates crashed. They observed a minute’s silence at the sad demise of Indian batting superiority over Pakistan for good….

That man proves true to his word and dismisses Tendulkar in the first ball. During the tea break he calls up his Mom and says, “I told you I will knock him over, I told you.“ I don’t know what his mom said in return.

Saqlain Mushtaq lost his bet against him. Both had placed a wager as to who would dismiss Tendulkar. Shoaib won more than the bet and Saqlain was happy to lose.