Seven from heaven: World Cup thrillers

Seven from heaven: World Cup thrillers

Whether you were at the stadium, or in front of your television set, these seven World Cup moments would have certainly given your manicurist nightmares. Take a look.

1. When 'white' lightning didn't strike

Fixture: South Africa Vs Australia, 1999 World Cup, semi-final

Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham

Result: Match tied, Australia went ahead on superior run-rate

Why didn't you run? Allan Donald will never be able to duck this question for life. South Africa, needed one run to win the match with one wicket in hand. Damien Fleming bowled a yorker to Lance Klusener. who managed to make contact with great difficulty. Klusener took off and reached the non-striker's end, crossing Allan Donald who had clearly succumbed to his butterflies. A diving Mark Waugh lobbed the ball to Fleming who in turn passed the ball to Adam Gilchrist. All that Allan Donald could do was watch as Gilchrist whipped the bails off to take Australia into the final of the World Cup.

2. Prasad offers his choicest blessings!

Fixture: India Vs Pakistan, 1996 World Cup, quarter final

Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Result: India won by 39 runs

What a match! India won the toss and chose to bat first, and the decision bore fruit as opener Navjot Singh Sidhu struck a gritty 115-ball 93. The middle order chipped in with some decent scores, but Ajay Jadeja stole the show, striking a quickfire 45; including 22 runs off a Waqar Younis over as India finished with an impressive total of 287/8. In reply, Pakistani openers Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail took their side off to a brisk start, before Srinath sent back Anwar for 48. Then came the moment of the match- Venkatesh Prasad Vs Aamir Sohail. The latter smacked local boy Venky for a four, and rubbed it in by pointing to the fence. The Pakistani skipper tried the same shot off the next ball, only to find his stumps all over the place. A charged up Prasad gave Sohail his choicest blessings as the entire crowd got to its feet. This wicket turned the tide in India's favour, and they went on to win the match by 39 runs.

3. Waughsome match!

Fixture: India Vs Australia, 1987 World Cup

Venue: M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Result: Australia won by one run

Indian skipper Kapil Dev won the toss and elected to field first. Powered by Geoff Marsh's 110, Australia did well to put 270/6 on the scoreboard. Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth began the chase in earnest, putting on 69 valuable runs for the first wicket before the former was dismissed by Peter Taylor. Srikkanth went on to score 70 before being trapped leg-before-wicket by Steve Waugh. Debutant Navjot Singh Sidhu (73) gave a good first impression of himself, putting his team on track for a victory. But India choked after Sidhu's dismissal at the hands of Craig McDermott. The team needed one batsman to stay till the end, but that didn't happen as wickets began to fall at regular intervals. It finally boiled down to eight runs off the final over. Maninder Singh who had starred in the infamous tied Test against the Aussies at the same venue, couldn't redeem his reputation, as he was bowled by Steve Waugh off the penultimate ball of the final over. Australia won the match by one run.

4. Kapil to India's rescue

Fixture: India Vs Zimbabwe, 1983 World Cup

Venue: Tunbridge Wells

Result: India won by 31 runs

Kapil Dev was left ruing his decision to bat first, as India found themselves struggling at 78/7. At 140/8, the scene had improved, but India were still not out of danger. Kapil Dev then played the knock of his life, taking his side to safer shores with No.10 Syed Kirmani providing solid support. The skipper struck 16 fours and 6 sixes, scoring 175 valuable runs as India recovered to score 266/8. His 126-run partnership with Kirmani was a record for the ninth wicket, until recently when it was broken by Lankans Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga in 2010. Despite Kevin Curran's defiant 73, India's bowlers put up an inspired performance as Zimbabwe fell short by 31 runs. No prizes for guessing the Man-of-the-Match.

5. A match to remember

Fixture: West Indies Vs England, 2007 World Cup

Venue: Bridgetown, Barbados

Result: England won by one wicket

Brian Lara's farewell game proved to be a cracker. West Indies who were put into bat by South Africa put exactly 300 on the scoreboard, losing all their ten batsmen in the process. The total was largely possible due to the big-hitting efforts of openers Chris Gayle (79) and Dwayne Smith (61), and cameos from Marlon Samuels (51) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (34). The English chase revolved around contributions from Michael Vaughan (79), and centurion Kevin Pietersen (100). KP in particular deserves special mention as he revived England's chase along with Paul Nixon (38), when his side was struggling at 189/6. After KP's exit, Paul Nixon and Stuart Broad took England within striking distance of victory. Dwayne Bravo then bowled Nixon in the final over as England still needed three runs to win with one wicket remaining. Stuart Broad held his nerve as England won by one wicket.

6. Caribbean Apocalypso!

Fixture: Australia Vs West Indies, 1996 World Cup, semi-final

Venue: PCA Stadium, Mohali

Result: Australia won by five runs

Australia were in big trouble at 15/4, before Stuart Law (72) and Michael Bevan (69) came to their rescue with a 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The West Indies though were fancying their chances at the end of the first inning, as the Aussies managed just 207/8. Shivnarine Chanderpaul started the chase on the right note for the Windies taking them to 165/3 before perishing for 80 to Glenn McGrath. Unfortunately for him, his teammates failed to follow his lead. The West Indies began to self-destruct; making a mess of what should have been a straightforward chase. Skipper Richie Richardson could only watch as Australia ran through the West Indian lower order to enter the final.

7. The best of them all

Fixture: India Vs West Indies, 1983 World Cup Final

Venue: Lord's

Result: India won by 43 runs

It would be fair to say that nobody expected India to win the 1983 World Cup. Kapil's devils were up against two-time World Cup champions West Indies, and most punters had put their money on Clive Lloyd's men. It started as per the expected script, with India folding up for 183, after the bespectacled West Indian skipper won the toss and asked India to bat first. The men from the sub-continent though had other plans as they quickly removed the opening pair of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. Kapil Dev then took that famous catch running backwards, to send back the dangerous Viv Richards for 33. The mighty West Indians slowly began to crumble, and when Mohinder Amarnath dismissed Michael Holding, India made history by winning their first ever World Cup. To cut a long story short, this is where it all started for Indian cricket.

Source: India Syndicate