8 iconic moments in Indian cricket over the last 2 decades (2000-2019)
India made its Test debut in 1932 and it took them almost twenty years to register their first Test victory (against England in Chennai in 1952). The country then made slow and steady progress over the next couple of decades. A watershed moment in Indian cricket came in 1971 with series wins in West Indies and England under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar. This was also the period which saw the great Sunil Gavaskar and the famed spin quartet conquer the cricketing world.
And with the 1983 World Cup victory, Kapil Dev and his men changed the landscape of cricket forever in the nation. The focus shifted to One-Day Internationals (ODI) and along with economic liberalization in the 1990s, the Indian fans pinned their hopes on the attacking batting of a certain Sachin Tendulkar. He delivered in style and scripted some famous victories.
Then, the new millennium saw the burden of expectations on Sachin’s shoulders relax a bit. No longer were people switching off their television sets post his dismissal. The performance of the team also improved in leaps and bounds. Until 1999, with 61 wins from 330 Tests, India had a win percentage of. Compare that with the the 46% (96 wins from 210 Tests) victories India have achieved over the last two decades and one comprehends the upward trajectory the Indian team has been on in recent years.
On that note, let’s take a look at some of the iconic moments of this era across formats i.e. the last twenty years (from Jan 01, 2000 to Dec 31, 2019). Note that these events are listed in a chronological order of their occurrence. Fasten your seat-belts for a wonderful journey down memory lane.
#1. India vs Australia Test Match, Kolkata Test victory, 2001
Just utter the words, Kolkata 2001 to any Indian cricket fan and you would get a smile in return. In 1535 Tests played till then, this was only the third occasion that a team following-on had won. Almost 20 years have passed, and more than 800 Tests have been played since then, Sourav Ganguly’s Team India still remains just the third team to achieve this feat.
From a pure probability standpoint, chances of such an event happening is 0.13. (3 out of 2387 Tests). Expect this number to go further down as more Tests are played. So, when at the end of Day Three, captain Ganguly’s mother-in-law told him that India would win the match, he was in his rights to get furious at that thought.
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To go back on that evening in Kolkata, Indians were 254 for 4, following-on after being bowled out for 171 in the first innings in response to Australia’s 445. Even that seemed a recovery after they had lost the third and important wicket of Sachin with the score at 115.
In this grim scenario, most of India had forgotten that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had become the first Indian to take a hat-trick on Day One of the Test. But VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, ensured that not only this hat-trick but the entire match would never be forgotten. They batted the whole of Day four and scored 335 runs. Laxman was finally dismissed for 281 (the then highest score by an Indian) and Dravid for 180 on Day Five.
If one had thought that the drama was over, then Harbhajan (who took 13 wickets in the match) along with Sachin had us on the edge of our seats with their last act. The two took nine wickets between them as the Australians were bowled out for 212 giving an unimaginable 171 runs victory to the Indians.
#2. India vs England, Natwest Trophy final win, 2002
There are some images that stay with you forever and the one of Sourav Ganguly twirling his shirt on the Lord’s balcony is one such iconic visual that has found its way into the annals of Indian cricket . Imagine taking off your shirt and dancing at a place as sacrosanct as Lord’s where the members are in blazers, neckties and hats. But then this was Ganguly, one who has always defied the norms. To put things into perspective, he was just giving it back to Andrew Flintoff who had done a similar thing after a English series victory in Wankhede, Mumbai.
Coming back to the match, this was the final of the Natwest Trophy also involving Sri Lanka. England had won the toss and batting first scored 325 for 5 in the 50 overs. Skipper Nasser Hussain (115) and Marcus Trescothick (109) had laid the foundations of this mammoth total, with Flintoff (40 off 32 balls) providing the finishing touch.
This was an uphill task. Mind you, back then, a 300+ score would guarantee a victory on most days. When India began their reply, a century opening partnership between Ganguly and Virender Sehwag seemed to have legitimately threatened the Englishmen. However, when Sachin got out for 14 as the fifth wicket fell with the score at 146, all seemed lost.
One remembers watching this at my house and at this juncture, the elders in my house had moved on to another room. For, they didn’t want to see India lose. I was still praying for an Indian victory and two young guns – Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh didn’t disappoint me. They put together a 121 runs partnership before Yuvraj was dismissed for 69.
The target was still 59 runs away and England sniffed a chance to comeback. However, Kaif along with Harbhajan Singh ensured that it was going to be an Indian summer at Lord’s.
India won the game by two wickets with just three balls remaining. By this time out entire family was in the living room watching the heroics and when the winning run were hit, the party had begun at our home (as it had across the nation).