Had the World Cup final of 1975 at Lord’s been a one-sided affair, I guess, the evolution of this mega event might have been halted. On that eventful day at Lord’s, cricket followers witnessed the dramatic nature of one-day cricket and it all happened due to some game-changing moments.
Over the years, these game-changing moments have enriched
the World Cup big time. Some of them had made us cry while some of them had
given us enormous amount of joy.
Let us have a look at some of the unforgettable game-changing
moments in the history of ICC World Cup:
10. Imran Khan's decision - Pakistan
v New Zealand ,
Semi-final, World Cup 1992
Wasim was a big hitter of the ball and was more experienced
than the young Inzamam. Pakistan
was in need of a quickfire knock and someone like Wasim Akram would have been
the ideal choice.
But, the Pakistan
captain Imran Khan sent Inzamam and he didn’t let his captain down. Inzamam
played a swashbuckling knock of 60 from just 37 balls. That breezy knock had
shifted the balance of the game towards Pakistan .
The men in green went on to win the semi-final in style.
9. Craig McDermott's bowling – Australia v India, Group
Match, World Cup 1987
But the Australian team was a hard nut to crack. Allan
Border brought on young Craig McDermott to bowl for a breakthrough. Immediately,
McDermott bowled Sidhu and triggered a panic in the Indian batting line-up.
Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ravi Shastri became the victims of
McDermott as six wickets fell for just 54 runs. India
lost the match by just one run.
8. Sachin Tendulkar's stumping –India
v Sri Lanka ,
Semi-final, World Cup 1996
8. Sachin Tendulkar's stumping –
Arjuna Ranatunga was searching for a breakthrough and threw
the ball to Sanath Jayasuriya in the 23rd over. In the fourth ball of the over,
Jayasuriya pitched one outside leg which Tendulkar tried to steer down to fine
leg, but the ball hit his thigh pad and went to wicketkeeper Romesh
Kaluwitharana. Tendulkar thought that the ball might have passed the keeper and
left his crease for a single, but within a second Sachin realized that he was
making a big mistake. In the twinkle of an eye, Kalu effected a quick stumping
and Tendulkar was dismissed.
That stumping triggered a collapse – 7 wickets fell for just
22 runs. That collapse was too hard to bear for the passionate cricket fans of
Kolkata. They responded violently by throwing water bottles on the field and
setting fire on the seats. Match referee summoned the players in and later
awarded the match to Sri Lanka .
Zaheer and Majid staved off the early threat posed by
Roberts and Holding and then opened out a superbly planned assault on the West
Indies bowling. Just before tea, these two were cruising in such a
carefree manner towards the target that Pakistan
looked the likely winners.
During the break, Clive Lloyd realized that the attack was
ill-directed at Zaheer and thus, he asked for the line of attack to be switched
from off-stump to leg. As the game resumed after the break, Colin Croft
followed Lloyd’s advice and proceeded accordingly. Zaheer went for a glance
against Croft and was caught behind. Pakistan
eventually collapsed to a defeat.
6. Jonty Rhodes – South
Africa v Pakistan ,
Group Match, World Cup 1992
Then came the deciding moment.
In the 31st over, Inzamam attempted a single for a leg bye.
Imran shouted “No” and while trying to get back to his crease, Inzamam saw
Jonty Rhodes sprinting towards the stumps from deep backward point. And then,
Jonty – grabbing the ball in his right hand - threw himself at the stumps with
his feet off the ground to run out Inzamam in the most spectacular fashion.
The dismissal of Inzamam dented Pakistan ’s
wonderful momentum and they lost the match by 20 runs and were at risk of
getting out of World Cup from the preliminary stages.
5. Mike Gatting's wicket - England
v Australia ,
Final, World Cup 1987
After India
and Pakistan ’s
shocking exit from the World Cup, the organizers thought that the stadium would
be half-full if not deserted for the final between England
and Australia .
But to the surprise of all, almost 100,000 passionate cricket fans went to
witness the final.
At 135 for 2, Border brought himself to bowl. Gatting faced
the first ball from Border with enough circumspection. Then Border pitched one
around Gatting’s off-stump who got down his haunches and executed the reverse
sweep but edged it and the ball flew in the air. Australia ’s
wicketkeeper Greg Dyer took a magnificent catch to dismiss Gatting.
That reverse sweep by Gatting proved fatal for England
and lost the match by just seven runs.
4. Ian Chappell's run out – Australia
v West Indies , Final, World Cup 1975
Lord’s was doused in brilliant sunshine during the first
World Cup final. The weather was excellent and the wicket a beauty – easy paced
and of even bounce to facilitate stroke-play. Clive Lloyd won the toss and
elected to bat first. The West Indies posted 291 for 8
in 60 overs.
In reply, Australia
were cruising at 162 for 3 with 21 overs left to play. Ian Chappell and Doug
Walters were in total command, but a young West Indian named Viv Richards came
into action to change the complexion of the game.
Ian Chappell pushed the ball towards midwicket and ran for a
quick single hesitantly as he saw Richards scrambling for the ball. Even though
the ball went past Richards, he picked up the ball quickly, swooped, turned and
fired it powerfully to Lloyd who ran out Ian. The dismissal of Ian Chappell had
jolted the Australian batting line-up and they looked down and out. A gallant
last-wicket stand between Lillee and Thomson revived the Australian hopes, but
Thomson was run out and West Indies lifted the World
Cup.
3. Herschelle Gibbs’s dropped catch - Australia
v South Africa ,
Super Six, World Cup 1999
It was the battle of two heavyweights of world cricket at
Headingly. Australia
had to beat South Africa
to claim a place in the semi-finals. The South Africans were in supreme form
throughout that tournament while Australia
were a struggling unit.
Batting first, South Africa
posted 271 for 7 in 50 overs. Australia ’s
reply was shaky and at 48 for 3, the Australian captain Steve Waugh walked out
to bat.
While batting on 56, Steve slapped a simple catch to
Herschelle Gibbs who was fielding at midwicket. Gibbs clutched on, but as he
went to hurl the ball skywards in celebration, it slipped from his grasp and
fell on the ground. It was perhaps the costliest of miss in the history of ICC
World Cup. It was a significant game-changing moment. Steve Waugh went on to
score 120 and Australia
not only qualified for the semi-finals, but also won the 1999 World Cup.
2. Wasim Akram's over – Pakistan
v England ,
Final, World Cup 1992
In the final, Pakistan
met England
against whom they were humiliated in the preliminary stages. Imran Khan won the
toss and elected to bat first. Despite a sluggish start, Pakistan
were able to post 249 for 6 on the board. Pakistan ’s
new ball bowlers – Wasim Akram and Aqib Javed along with leg-spinner Mushtaq
Ahmed had jolted the English batting line up. England
were reeling at 69 for 4. But, Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother forged a 72-run
partnership in 14 overs and revived the English hopes.
Imran Khan decided to throw the ball to Wasim Akram for a
breakthrough. In the 35th over, Wasim Akram bowled two of the most unplayable
deliveries ever bowled in the history of World Cups. He dismissed Allan lamb
and Chris in successive deliveries which simply blew away England ’s
chances. England
never recovered from the havoc created by Akram and Pakistan
lifted the trophy for the first time.
1. Kapil Dev's catch – India
v West Indies , Final, World Cup 1983
India surpassed
all the expectations when they advanced into the finals of the World Cup 1983.
In the final, their opposition was the West Indies and
during that time they were at the height of their powers. On a bowling friendly
track at Lord’s, Clive Lloyd won the toss and invited India
to bat first. India
only managed to score 183 runs.
Such a total was supposed to be a cake walk for West
Indies . Balwinder Singh Sandhu dismissed Gordon Greenidge early,
but Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards stabilized the innings. Viv was batting in
such a ruthless manner; it seemed that the game would be finished before tea.
But, then came the epic game-changing moment.
Madan Lal, pitched one short outside the off-stump and Viv
set himself to clobber it behind midwicket. Viv played the ball a bit early;
top-edged it and the ball went high in the air. While the rest of the Indian
fielders gave up the hope of catching that, one fielder didn’t.
Kapil Dev, who was fielding at mid-on, began to run towards
the ball and took an astonishing catch. Viv was dismissed and that catch
completely changed the complexion of the match. West Indies
continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and lost the match by 43 runs.
This article has been published in Sportskeeda on 12/02/2015 10 Iconic game-changing moments in Cricket World Cup history
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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