Sports
Horse had bolted by the time we figured Sri Lanka out in 1996 – Azhar
by Rex Clementine
Has there ever been a more memorable debut in cricket than that of Mohammad Azharuddin’s? Debuting against England in 1984 as a 21-year-old youngster Azhar completed three Test hundreds in his first three Test matches. They were not just hundreds but elegance all over. As Matthew Engel, the Editor of Wisden wondered, Azhar is the ‘Michelangelo in the midst of housepainters.’
Three hundreds in the first three Tests has been a feat that has never been matched before or after.
A couple of months after that memorable debut, India toured Sri Lanka. But Azhar failed to convert his early success during his first tour overseas – managing just 109 runs in six innings without a fifty. It was also the series where Sri Lanka recorded their maiden Test win.
“I don’t think we played well in that 1985 Test series. It was my fourth Test match and expectations were high for me, but I failed. It was a good learning experience. The wickets were different at that time. You had some very good fast bowlers – De Mel, Ahangama and the two Ratnayakes. They were very good exponents of swing bowling. For me it was a very new experience as I had not played on that kind of seaming wickets,” remembered Azhar.
Azhar remains immensely popular in Sri Lanka. You can safely say that more than Sachin, Kapil, Gavaskar or Dhoni, Azhar is Sri Lanka’s most loved cricketer. There are reasons for that.
Azhar’s career-best score was 199. He never made a double hundred. That 199 came against us. So how did he miss out on the double hundred? Well, he was given out leg before wicket to Ravi Ratnayake. Incidentally, the umpire was Azhar’s close friend from his hometown of Hyderabad – V.K. Ramaswamy.
There’s another reason to love Azhar. Mere days after the LTTE had bombed the Central Bank in 1996, Sri Lanka’s World Cup games were in jeopardy. Australia and West Indies pulled out. They either wanted the games played in India or points be given to them as Colombo was unsafe to host the matches, so they claimed.
Indian cricket supremo and master tactician Jagmohan Dalmiya was hard at work. He assembled a joint India – Pakistan team to play in Colombo to show their security concerns were a false alarm. Azhar had to lead the team. He did it without any hesitation and the nation of Sri Lanka embraced the Indian captain.
“We wanted to showcase that our Asian solidarity was strong. That sent a strong message across the cricketing world. I guess that made the nation of Sri Lanka to admire me more than my cricket. I had no problem doing it for Sri Lanka had been a place that I loved. The warmth of the people, the hospitality that everyone shows you and I just love being here. I must thank the players, especially the Pakistan captain at that time. Wasim Akram to play under the Indian captain must not have been easy,” Azhar recalled.
“Since that tour, I have realized how popular I am in Sri Lanka. There’s so much love and admiration by the Sri Lankans not only when I come here but when I visit other parts of the world as well.
For some reason, the Indian city of Hyderabad has produced some of that nation’s finest Test captains. There was M.L. Jaisimha in the 1960s followed by Tiger Pataudi in the 1970s. Then came Azhar in the 1990s.
“In Hyderabad what happens is when you are young and when you make an impact even at school level, they give you that responsibility of leading the side early in your career. So, you get opportunities early. Maybe that’s one reason why we have that trait. Personally, I was very shy of leading the side and more than happy to concentrate on my batting. As luck would have it, everything fell in a different way and I guess it was my destiny.”
As captain of India, could he have done things differently when his bowlers got a hiding during the 1996 World Cup. It was rare for Sri Lanka to beat India twice in their own backyard in the space of two weeks.
“They played differently to other teams. New Zealand had something similar in 1992, but they couldn’t go on. What happened in that 1996 World Cup was that by the time we drew up plans to stop Sri Lanka’s attacking style, most teams had been badly exposed,” Azhar explained.
“It was bold of them to adopt such an approach. But I guess when it didn’t work, they had the substance to do damage control and that proved to be the key to their success. Aravinda was unstoppable in that tournament. He put the bowling to the sword no matter how tricky the situation was. Mentally he was very strong and when he fiercely focused on something it was bad news for the opposition. Not to forget Sanath, who did so much damage and Sri Lanka were deserving winners.”
“Of course they were so well lead by Arjuna. It amazes me how even to date Arjuna has the love and affection of all his players. It’s similar to what Clive Lloyd gets from West Indies of the 1980s and what Ian Chappell receives from Australians of 1970s. You can’t be taught to inspire people. You have to be born a leader.’
Azhar was one player who was rarely troubled by Muttiah Muralitharan. His game plan was aggression. Blessed with supple wrists and superb footwork, he always dominated Murali.
“When you are playing bowlers of great repute and so much skill you have to be positive and creative. What Murali has done with 800 Test wickets and 500 ODI wickets is unbelievable. I admire him a lot. I had got out to him too but by and large I tried to attack him all the time. He was an attacking bowler. If you are playing bowlers who are defensive, you have the time at your hand. But against an attacking bowler, if you try to be defensive you are playing into his hands.
These have been troubled times for the national cricket team, but Azhar urges fans to be patient. “It hurts me to see the status of Sri Lankan cricket. But they have a young side. These guys will develop over time. Just be patient and keep backing them. They won the Asia Cup last year and they can only move forward. I hope they become consistent. I have no doubt about the talent in Sri Lanka, it’s the consistency that I would like to see.”
Azhar’s batting was magical, his captaincy was inspirational while he was India’s best fielder by some distance. He was stranded on 99 Test matches, unable to complete the milestone of 100 Tests as the match-fixing controversy broke out in 2000.
However, it didn’t take him much time to find his way back into cricket. He was elected as the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association and he could go on to lead the powerful BCCI one day. He was also a Member of Parliament. For a man who has a fan base all over India, he didn’t contest from his hometown but went to the far-off Uttar Pradesh. He won the elections hands down from a constituency which the Congress Party hadn’t won in 25 years.
“The cricket elections is coming again on the 15th of this month and I am running. As for politics, I am the working President of Congress in Telangana state. Politics is a field where you have to dedicate a lot of time and I look forward to serving the party and my country again.”
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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