Opinion Moments of sweet triumph
The greatest hits of Indian cricket,between its two World Cups.
India vs West Indies,Lords,1983: Gordon Greenidges ill-advised shouldering of arms,Kapil Devs 30-yard sprint to catch Viv Richards on the midwicket fence,and Jimmy Amarnaths gleeful dash to grab the stumps at the end images seared into the memory from repeated viewing every four years. Kapils Devils have their successors now,but the first time is always the sweetest.
India vs Pakistan,Melbourne,1985: If 83 was a bolt out of the blue,the World Championships of Cricket two years later showed that India could be a consistently brilliant ODI side. India won five out of five matches,downing Pakistan breezily in the final thanks to a three-for from leg spinner L. Sivaramakrishnan and a confident century stand from openers Ravi Shastri and Kris Srikkanth.
India vs England,Lords,1986: Dilip Vengsarkars third successive hundred at Lords,unlike the other two,resulted in an India win. The Colonels 126 gave India a 47-run lead,before Kapil Dev and Maninder Singh ran through Englands second innings,leaving India just 134 to chase. Victory in the next Test at Leeds sealed Indias only away Test series win in the 80s.
India vs Australia,Kolkata,2001: After the largely forgettable 90s,Indias slow ascent to Test match greatness began at the Eden Gardens,with the most astonishing comeback of all time. V. V. S. Laxman,Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh would all become vital cogs in a machine that specialised in coming back from the dead,and Sourav Ganguly,in due course,would become Indias most successful Test captain.
India vs England,Leeds,2003: The Holy Trinitys greatest performance in concert masterful self-denial from Rahul Dravid on day one followed by fireworks late on day two from Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. All three made hundreds,and India having elected to bat on a green top cantered to a series-levelling innings win.
India vs Pakistan,Multan,2004: After shading a close one-day series 3-2,India won its first Test on Pakistani soil in 15 years in a brutally one-sided manner,thanks to Virender Sehwags one-of-a-kind genius. Sehwags 309,the first triple hundred by an Indian,set up an innings win,and provided ample glimpse of the man who would become Indias biggest game-changer over the next decade.
India vs Pakistan,Johannesburg,2007: With close to zero experience in the shortest format,an experimental side skippered for the first time by M. S. Dhoni surprised everyone by winning the inaugural World T20,sparking the greatest revolution in cricket since Kerry Packer. Portentously,Gautam Gambhir top-scored in the final,a tense clash of arch-rivals.
India vs Australia,Perth,2008: Ricky Ponting had emulated his predecessor Steve Waugh by leading Australia to 16 Test wins in a row,the last of which was an ill-tempered victory over Anil Kumbles Indians at Sydney. India stormed back at Perth,with Irfan Pathans all-round display the highlight of an incredible team effort.
India vs South Africa,Durban,2010: Indias seam attack had looked club-class in the first Test at Centurion,in a defeat that brought the teams number one Test ranking into question. The return of Zaheer Khan changed everything after his early wickets had helped the visitor gain a 74-run lead,all that remained was for V. V. S. Laxman to perform yet another second-innings high-wire act.
India vs Sri Lanka,Mumbai,2011
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