Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

Super Moments

Friday, March 28 2003

The World Cup has been brilliant to watch. We have seen greatness, moments of pure magic and above all some genius as well. Here are some of the magnificent moments, which defined this World Cup:

TEN
Chaminda Vaas’ hat-trick off the first three deliveries of the match against Bangladesh was amazing. He wrapped up the over with another wicket off the last ball of the over. The scorecard read: 1 over, 5 runs and 4 wickets… astonishing statistics!

Vaas topped the bowling charts of the World Cup with 23 wickets to his name and now has the most wickets taken in a single tournament.

NINE
The veteran Vasbert Drakes took a catch that would have made Jonty Rhodes proud. The commentators acknowledged it as a six by the devastating Canadian John Davison, but Drakes flung himself backwards and took the catch one- handed. Earlier in the match, Davison hit Drakes all over the park. He further repaid his team by taking five wickets in the innings.

EIGHT
Andrew Symonds would have never thought of a better stage to proclaim his place in the Australian line-up. He brutalized the much-vaunted Pakistan fast bowling attack and was even harsher on the spinner Shahid Afridi. This high-class insurgency in a pressure situation should be a lesson for all up and coming cricketers.

SEVEN
Andy Blignaut is known as the Zimbabwean Lance Klusener for a reason. He can destroy even the best of bowling attacks and his assault is so dangerous that it leaves a scar for a long time. Just ask Andre Adams. He must be having nightmares of this big Zimbabwean. Blignaut had two cracks at the men from Down Under. First it was the Australians and then the Black Caps. He made even the smart Stephen Fleming sweat. Amazingly, this man considered quitting cricket a year ago. Look at what we would have missed!

SIX
Andy Bichel made himself counted for this World Cup. He knocked the wind off England’s highflying batting line-up at Port Elizabeth and just when everyone thought that the Aussies broke, he stepped in and won the match with the bat. One of the best all-round performance at a world stage by anyone ever. He took seven wickets and scored runs when it mattered most. Against the Black Caps in the Super Six stage, Australia were tottering. He again stepped in and took the impetus away from the opponent. His amazing run-out of Aravinda de Silva is another story to tell. His amazing turn and throw in one swing was simply and truly Bichel.

FIVE
Brett Lee was quick in South Africa. He made every batsman fly around with his discomforting pace. He consistently clocked the high 90-mph mark and at times, seemed as if he was flying in to deliver another monster delivery. He never tired at this tournament and his two towering sixes off Jacob Oram and his monumental dismissal of Marvan Atapattu in the semi finals were his defining moments. He was fast and boy, at times he was wonderfully furious. He is the blasting furnace in this Australian side and he is here to stay for a long time.

FOUR
Ramnaresh Sarwan made cricket feel mythical when he almost won the game against Sri Lanka. A West Indian victory would have done justice to him and make it look perfect but alas, its reality!
A scorching bouncer from paceman Dilhara Fernando knocked him off. He left the stadium and after being treated at a nearby hospital, he came back wearing a cap. As if his courageous appearance wasn’t enough, he fought it out. He hit some amazing sixes and if that wasn’t enough, he took the game to the last over of the innings. But as I said, this is the real world so no fairytales!

THREE
John Davison made the Canadian side thanks to the five weeks he spent when he was born in Maple Leaf country. He grew up in Australia and now at the ripe old age of 32, he represented his birth country just to have one last fling with fame. He was sent in as a pinch hitter in all the matches and surely the Canadian management knew how good he was. Not only them, now the whole world knows how great he is. He belted the West Indian attack to all parts of the field and scored the fastest hundred at a World Cup. Only a stunning acrobatic catch by his bunny (!) Vasbert Drakes stopped him from more devastation. Righteously, this has to be a moment to cherish for the cricketing world, as he could be the tip of the iceberg of talent for cricket.

TWO
The captain of the best cricket team in the world has to be very good in his discipline. Ricky Ponting admitted that it was a long awaited innings. It was long awaited alright. His 140 undefeated in the World Cup took the credit away from Aravinda de Silva (1996) and Vivian Richards (1979) as possessing the best innings in a World Cup final. He hit eight sixes and only a dozen fours. The Bull Ring seemed as if a 30 yard circle the way he was hitting the ball out of the park so often. His one handed six off Zaheer Khan was breathtaking to say the least. His century set up the massive 359 score for Australia. He had the pleasure and pressure to lead the best team, and now he has proved that he is good enough for the job.

ONE
Sachin Tendulkar is the best player in the world. Everyone knows this as a fact. He is a genius who is often compared to geniuses in different sporting fields and not only crickets. He has won innumerable matches for India but this time around he seemed to be a man on a mission. He already had more than 11,000 runs in the ODI version so if he wanted to, he could have had a quite World Cup scoring a century and a couple of fifties. Instead, he decided to thrill the public again. This time, he did it spectacularly. He missed three easy hundreds by a few runs margin but settled for winning the matches for his country. He top scored in almost all of India’s matches. His majestic display of strokeplay lost Waqar Younis his captaincy. Along with batting look-alike Sehwag, he took them apart in the space of one hour and fifteen or so minutes. Then against England, only a disciplined Flintoff slowed him down but still he top scored. His consistency won him the man of the tournament but he couldn’t win the Cup for India. And this simple fact would haunt him for the next four years.


Posted by Isam