Vivian Richards 189*

[robelinda]

Not a lot of point in trying to figure out which one was best, they were both fine knocks and will go down in history as great, lets leave it at that!!!!!

 

[Cevno]

The one thing about Sachin's sharjah knocks was the aussie attack was close to woeful. Sachin did play well but not that amazing, the first ton with the storm was great but it didnt win the match, but got India into the final, of a completely meaningless tournament it has to be said.

The aussie attack comprised of Fleming ,Kasprowicz and Warne,which i believe except Mcgrath was the first choice bowling attack. It wasn't as woeful as you make out.

As for the importance of the tournament it wasn't as important as the World Cup but ,it was a pretty important tournament at the time with big prize money.
More important than the bilateral texaco trophy where Viv played his knock.

 

[smash84]

Not a lot of point in trying to figure out which one was best, they were both fine knocks and will go down in history as great, lets leave it at that!!!!!

fair enough...

 

[Altaican]

So true Ankit. Knocks while chasing are under so much pressure. That Gibbs knock was something..........it was unbelievable stuff really.......along with Steve Waugh's innings in super six 1999 WC....Miandad 1986 Sharjah Cup final with that last ball six.....Tendulkar 2003 WC vs Pakistan against Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib, and Saqlain.............just awesome stuff

I tend to rate chasing knocks really high on my list of ODI innings. The pressure is much greater in a chase IMO.

To me, one of the best chasing ODI 100s was the perennially under-rated Aravinda De Silva's magnificent match-winning 108* against McGrath, Warne & co in the 1996 WC Final (can't think of a more important ODI match) at Lahore. Both the openers were gone very early. The pressure was intense on De Silva throughout the innings. To date, it has been the only match-winning 100 scored in a World Cup final while chasing. Wish Sri Lankan cricket also had media aggression behind it to prop up that innings.

 

[Cevno]

To me, one of the best chasing ODI 100s was the perennially under-rated Aravinda De Silva's magnificent match-winning 108* against McGrath, Warne & co in the 1996 WC Final (can't think of a more important ODI match) at Lahore. Both the openers were gone very early. The pressure was intense on De Silva throughout the innings. To date, it has been the only match-winning 100 scored in a World Cup final while chasing. Wish Sri Lankan cricket also had media aggression behind it to prop up that innings.

Good call.

It was a fantastic innings as well.

But perhaps a reason it is not mentioned at the top unfairly,is because he made that chase comfortable and so it did not have a drama attached to it like hitting a crucial four in the last over or Srilanka being 17/5 and winning by one wicket or hitting this many sixes and fours etc....
These things i feel sometimes correctly and sometimes incorrectly sometimes more in making innings rememberable.

Same i believe is the case with Adam Gilchrist's 149 in the 2007 world cup final.What a magnificent knock!!!!

Also perhaps the case with Clive Lloyd's Swashbuckling 102 in the innaugral World Cup Final.

 

[smash84]

To me, one of the best chasing ODI 100s was the perennially under-rated Aravinda De Silva's magnificent match-winning 108* against McGrath, Warne & co in the 1996 WC Final (can't think of a more important ODI match) at Lahore. Both the openers were gone very early. The pressure was intense on De Silva throughout the innings. To date, it has been the only match-winning 100 scored in a World Cup final while chasing. Wish Sri Lankan cricket also had media aggression behind it to prop up that innings.

De Silva was a class act really. And that was a very good innings. But McGrath really wasn't the McGrath back then as we know.

 

[robelinda]

I was going to mention the DeSilva ton in 96 but yeah it didnt have the aura about it that it probably should. It was a very easy chase all the way through. Doesnt mean it cant be deemed great though.

 

[Cevno]

This Innings of Saeed anwar of 194 in the final of the independence cup was fantastic as well.

YouTube - Saeed Anwar's 194 vs India

The second highest score being 38 and with intensity of India-Pakistan cricket being so high back then.

 

[Altaican]

The one thing about Sachin's sharjah knocks was the aussie attack was close to woeful. Sachin did play well but not that amazing, the first ton with the storm was great but it didnt win the match, but got India into the final, of a completely meaningless tournament it has to be said.

Exactly my thoughts! When Australia's best fast bowlers McGrath and Gillespie withdrew from the entire tour, it totally took my interest off from the whole tour. Aussie attack was pedestrian in that tour.

The next Aus-Ind match that I followed very closely was the 1999 WC super-six match. Because this time Aus attack was back at it's best. The match had all the ingredients of a blockbuster. It was a very very important match, must-win for both teams as both had come in to Super-6 at the bottom of the table. McGrath was at the peak of his powers. Even just pace-wise, he was bowling pretty quick. India supposedly had the best batting line up. Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly had just scored massive 100s in the league matches. Man, what a display of fast bowling that was! Just ripped the Indian batting apart. His first over to Tendulkar was one of the best displays of fast bowling I have seen in ODI cricket.

I also remember Moin Khan destroying McGrath in the league match of that tournament. If I remember correctly McGrath struggled against Pak in ODIs for certain time. He himself mentions that.

 

[Cevno]

Exactly my thoughts! When Australia's best fast bowlers McGrath and Gillespie withdrew from the entire tour, it totally took my interest off from the whole tour. Aussie attack was pedestrian in that tour.

The next Aus-Ind match that I followed very closely was the 1999 WC super-six match. Because this time Aus attack was back at it's best. The match had all the ingredients of a blockbuster. It was a very very important match, must-win for both teams as both had come in to Super-6 at the bottom of the table. McGrath was at the peak of his powers. Even just pace-wise, he was bowling pretty quick. India supposedly had the best batting line up. Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly had just scored massive 100s in the league matches. Man, what a display of fast bowling that was! Just ripped the Indian batting apart. His first over to Tendulkar was one of the best displays of fast bowling I have seen in ODI cricket.

As far as i am aware Gillespie was not selected in the Aussie ODI team in the 1999 World Cup or the 1998 Coca cola trophy at Sharjah.
And Gillespie back then wasn't the bowler he later went on to become.

So you just lost interest because of Mcgrath being not there?

 

[vcs]

Steve Waugh's ton was do or die too, against the best or one of the best pace attacks in the world cup, captain and chasing too. Ive seen Kapil's ton and it was a fine display, not sure where to rate it myself, i'm not a believer that a great innings cant be played against a minnow- Gilchrist and Ponting both hit fabulous tons in that test series in Bangladesh when the side was in deep poop. I think i'd rate Kapil's number 3, maybe....

You can't have watched it unless you were at the ground! BBC was on strike that day, no footage of that match exists.

 

[Cevno]

Another Knock which does not get the recognition it deserves in terms of chasing knocks is Chris cairns 102 not out in the Champions trophy final against India in 2000 at Nairobi.

Final: India v New Zealand at Nairobi (Gym), Oct 15, 2000 | Cricket Scorecard | Cricinfo.com

India had defeated South Africa and then Australi in brilliant matches to get there and were looking very likely to win the final as well ,when Chris cairns walked in.
It was also the only major ICC tournament that Newzealand had won ever.

 

[robelinda]

You can't have watched it unless you were at the ground! BBC was on strike that day, no footage of that match exists.

Footage does exist, its just not official, nor is it very good.

 

[vcs]

Footage does exist, its just not official, nor is it very good.

Got this from cricinfo..

While many fans can recall images from that Indian summer thanks to the televised semi-finals and historic final - Yashpal Sharma's straight drive off Ian Botham, Kirti Azad bowling Botham with a shooter, Gordon Greenidge shouldering arms to Balwinder Singh Sandhu and being bowled, Kapil's match-winning catch to dismiss Viv Richards - many more able to draw pictures from the radio, and countless numbers now able to access clips on YouTube, none but the fortunate and untraceable few present on June 18 can tell you what transpired that day because, alas, the BBC was on strike. The venue was deemed too small and India and Zimbabwe too irrelevant to merit a camera crew, and the few pictures taken by Adrian Murrell and Trevor Jones aside, there is no pictorial record. It is rumoured that one Indian spectator happened to have a camera with which he filmed Kapil's knock, but there has been no proof of this.

Hallowed ground | Specials | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

 

[robelinda]

The footage isnt rare at all, dont know what cricinfo is talking about. Pak cd store was one place that used to sell it. Its crappy footage, must be that spectators footage.

 

[Altaican]

Steve Waugh's batting (his innings against RSA in that World Cup in particular) although great for some reason lacks the aesthetic appeal or the sheer destructive power of a Lara or a Tendulkar or Gilchrist's innings.

Yes, De Silva's knock might have looked easy, but I was rooting heavily for Sri Lanka and believe me there was serious pressure . That was one cricket match where I just wanted Sri Lanka to win (nothing against Australia or anything).

Lara also has a few ODI 100s against great attacks while chasing. I remember his 153 against Waqar while chasing some 280+ (high ODI score in those days ) in the early 90s. He also had a couple of 100s in that bitterly fought World Series Cricket between Aus-Pak-Windies in 1996-97 which Pak ended up winning. That was a great ODI series with all three teams having great attacks.

 

[Altaican]

The footage isnt rare at all, dont know what cricinfo is talking about. Pak cd store was one place that used to sell it. Its crappy footage, must be that spectators footage.

If you auction all the rare cricket videos that you have on ebay in India, you will become a millionaire .

 

[robelinda]

Sometimes I get more than enough off regular ebay, from Indians! There's been a few cases where ive bought or sold a single video for over $2000. Totally crazy. Ch 9 released a very short run of a video of the 84/85 Aus v WI summer, 4 times ive seen it on ebay its gone for between $1000 and $2000. Fortunately only one of those times I was the buyer!

 

[kingkallis]

I remember a knock of Scott Styris where he scored 141 from the total of some 225. It was one of the finest ODI knocks I had seen.

 

[Flem274*]

It was against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup IIRC.