Where is that killer instinct?
VijayKumar Raman (rvkumar@hotmail.com)
When I think of great World Cup matches, what comes to mind is the India versus Australia league game played in Brisbane in 1992.
The tournament was marred with the bizzare rule that put the side batting second in a very tough position in rain affected matches.
Australia had hit some 230-odd runs in 50 overs and a very good Indian chase looked on, with Sachin in great form. As luck would have it, rain stopped play for 45 mins during the Indian innings and when the play resumed, the asking rate shot up to about 7 an over with India still needing 200 runs in 30 overs.
Trying to get the score board ticking, Srikanth, Shastri and Sachin found themselves back in the pavillion with just 40 on the board. We all thought that the match was virtually over with Azhar in terrible form. He had made a duck in the previous match against England.With another 15 overs to go, the asking rate was now about 10 an over. Azhar showed that he had the fighiting spirit in him and started blasting the ball all round the park.
Runs started coming at a very rapid rate and everyone including the Aussie commentators and Border knew that if Australia had to pull this one off, Azhar had to get out and it didn't look like happening. As luck would have it, Azhar got run out at the very end and the Indian batting collapsed, we lost the match by one run. One never thought that India could get this close.
That increased the morale of the side and they went on to beat Pakistan (the eventual champions) easily. So everyone knows that Azhar has it in him, and if India are to do well, he has to get into great form and get back that killer instinct that is missing
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