All Time Great Championship: Could Have Been T20 Heroes

[Wilted]

Game 49: Sri Lanka vs Australia
Sri Lanka XI: R Kaluwitharana+, S Jayantha, T Samaraweera, A Ranatunga, A de Silva*, D Mendis, T Paravitana, U Chandana, R Ratnayeke, K Dharmasena, P Wickramasinghe
Australia XI: V Trumper, M Waugh, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, M Bevan, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warne, D Lillee, J Thomson
Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

Australia
Aside from Trumper being caught behind the powerplay had nothing exciting happen. Lehmann began to open his blade but Wickramasinghe was one step ahead and dismissed him for 29. When the spinners came on, Waugh lit up like a Christmas tree and made up for any lost aggression he had in the early overs. He brough up 50 off 32 balls. Bradman was only able to put on 20 runs before being caught and bowled by Samaraweera and Bevan was bowled shortly after. A risky run saw the end of Waugh's innings. Despite quick wickets, each batsman that came in scored faster than the last. Australia finished with 166 runs.

Australia 5-166

Sri Lanka
Thomson picked up the wickets of both openers in the second over. The rest of the Sri Lankan top order didn't fare any better as Sri Lanka slumped to 4-27. Wicket after wicket fell and no Sri Lankan batsman could even reach double digits except for Chandana who was unbeaten on12 when Warne picked up his fifth wicket to finish bowling Sri Lanka out for only 62 runs.

Australia 5-166
M Waugh 54, K Miller 30 no
P Wickramasinghe 2-26, 1-32

Sri Lanka 62
U Chandana 12 no, S Jayantha 9
S Warne 5-24, J Thomson 2-13

Sri Lanka lost by 104 runs
S Warne was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Round 12 Results

Round 12

SA lost to WI

AUS defeated NZ

IND defeated SL

PAK defeated

Current Standings

Ladder	Played	Wins	N/R	NRR	Total
Australia	12	10		1.11	20
West Indies	12	8		0.97	16
India	12	7	2	0.68	16
New Zealand	12	6	1	-0.01	13
England	12	6		-0.68	12
South Africa	12	5	1	-0.16	11
Pakistan	12	3		-0.66	6
Sri Lanka	12	1		-2.04	2

Top 6 teams will progress to the finals.

Tournament Stat Leaders

Player	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
M Waugh	534	C Ambrose	27
D Lehmann	478	J Garner	26
Z Abbas	392	B Willis	21
G Headley	359	A Faulkner	20
S Anwar	343	A Donald +1 other	20

Round 13 Fixture

Round 13

SL vs AUS

WI vs IND

ENG vs SA

NZ vs PAK

[Wilted]

Game 48: Pakistan vs England
Pakistan XI: S Anwar, A Sohail, Z Abbas, J Miandad, W Raja, I Khan*, R Raja, M Khan+, W Akram, A Qadir, W Younis
England XI: A Stewart+, W Grace, F Woolley, G Hick, C Milburn, D Gower, I Botham, T Greig*, F Trueman, B Willis, D Underwood
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl.

England
Hitting six 4s in the first two overs, Stewart was on fire from the very start. Grace, on the other hand, was happy to block as often as Stewart hit boundaries. Stewart made the bulk of the runs between the two openers until a change of bowling brought the spinners on and Grace teed off. Grace eventually fell to W Raja, who was the one to break the 90-run opening stand. While not as explosive as he began, Stewart passed 50 and brought up England's 100th run with the same shot. Akram took the only other wicket in the innings, ending Stewart's innings for 82. A few big hits from Woolley at the end took England to 162.

England 2-162

Pakistan
Greig took it upon himself to open the bowling and took the wicket of Sohail in the first over. The English captain was in amongst it in the next over when he ran Anwar. Abbas kept Pakistan in the hunt while Underwood picked off Miandad but England was making it difficult for anyone else to make runs. The pair of Abbas and W Raja put one a match-changing 50-run partnership to give Pakistan five overs to chase down the remaining 42 runs. Both Abbas and Raja were dismissed by Willis in the second last over, leaving two new batsmen to score six runs off Greig in the final over. R Raja edged the first ball and was caught behind but Moin Khan came out to hit back-to-back boundaries to give Pakistan a win over England.

England 2-162
A Stewart 82, F Woolley 38 no
W Raja 1-25, W Akram 1-44

Pakistan 6-165
Z Abbas 73, W Raja 36
B Willis 2-29, T Greig 2-29

Pakistan won by 4 wickets
Z Abbas was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 47: India vs Sri Lanka
India XI: S Gavaskar, A Jadea, V Kambli, M Azharuddin, M Kaif, K Dev*, V Mankad, V Yadav+, A Kumble, J Srinath, B Bedi
Sri Lanka XI: R Kaluwitharana, S Jayantha, T Samaraweera, A de Silva*, A Ratatunga, D Mendis, R Silva, K Dharmasena, U Chandana, R Ratnayeke, P Wickramasinghe
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl.

India
The Indians put on some quick runs to begin the match but three wickets in three overs from Ratnayeke and Chandana kept the runs down. Whenever India looked to be scoring runs, Sri Lanka kept them in check with a wicket. Kaif and Yadav fought back in the later overs to produce a solid total. Their 50-run partnership guided India to a total of 160 runs.

India 6-160

Sri Lanka
Kaluwitharana played the role of the aggressor while Jayantha took on a more defensive style during the powerplay. This gave Sri Lanka a solid foundation in the chase that they hoped would bring about their second tournament win. Two wickets in two balls from Kumble turned things around for India. Despite the wickets, Kaluwitharana remained a thorn in the Indians' side. The spin bowlers piled on dot balls Sri Lanka was faced with upping their ante or watching the results slide through their fingers. Kaluwitharana brought up his 50 and soon fell to spin. The loss of their leading run-scorer took the fight out of the Sri Lankans and they limped to the end of the innings with just 119 runs on the board.

India 6-160
M Kaif 46 no, V Yadav 31 no
U Chandana 2-25, K Dharmasena 1-21

Sri Lanka 8-119
R Kaluwitharana 52, D Mendis 19
A Kumble 3-24, B Bedi 2-18

India won by 41 runs
M Kaif was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 46: Australia vs New Zealand
Australia XI: V Trumper, M Waugh, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, M Bevan, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warne, D Lillee, J Thomson
New Zealand XI: B Sutcliffe, J Wright, M Crowe*, C Harris, B Congdon, A Jones, R Hadlee, I Smith+, L Cairns, J Saunders, E Chatfield
Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

Australia
The first over had a bit of everything: boundaries, run out chances and most importantly for New Zealand, the wicket of Trumper. Lehmann, the leading run-scorer of the tournament, struggled against the New Zealand quicks and eventually was bowled by an inswinging yorker from Hadlee. While his partners went out at the other end Waugh continued to play his best shots and brought up his half-century in 26 balls. Bradman wasn't shy of hitting some big shot either and the pair put on a 100-run partnership at almost 10 runs per over. The current highest score of the tournament is 93, held by Harris, and Waugh reached 92 before Harris got him out caught and bowled. A front-foot no-ball brought Waugh back and he proceeded to not only overtake the highest score but also bring up the first 100 of the tournament! In the same over, Bradman also brought up his 50. The pair guided Australia to 200 runs, a massive total by this tournament's standards.

Australia 2-201

New Zealand
New Zealand had every reason to throw everything at this chase. Firstly, they were still in the hunt for a spot in the top two for the finals. Secondly, a win would mean they would be the only team to boast they beat Australia twice. Unfortunately for the Kiwis, they only made eight runs in the first three overs for the loss of a wicket. After five overs, the required run rate was already over two runs per ball. The Aussie bowlers bowled tight lines for little reward as they have done all tournament. Wright steadily made his way to 50 before being trapped LBW by Warne. Some last-minute slogging from Congdon and Jones gave the New Zealand fans something to cheer for but it was never going to be enough.

Australia 2-201
M Waugh 129 no, D Bradman 59 no
R Hadlee 2-28

New Zealand 5-167
J Wright 61, B Congdon 49 no
D Lillee 3-25, S Warne 1-39

Australia won by 34 runs
M Waugh was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 45: South Africa vs West Indies
South Africa XI: B Mitchell, K Wessels, J Rhodes*, L Klusener, A Faulkner, G Pollock, H Cronje, C Rice, D Richardson+, P Pollock, A Donald
West Indies XI: G Headley, G Greenidge, V Richards, C Lloyd, B Lara, G Sobers*, C Walcott+, M Marshall, A Roberts, J Garner, C Ambrose
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.

South Africa
Mitchell and Wessels started aggressively against the fearsome West Indies pace attack though it wasn't long before Garner had his first, brought on by a change of angle that targetted the body of Mitchell from around the wicket. Rhodes mishit a lofted drive to mid-off and Klusener edged the hattrick ball to first slip trying to defend, giving Garner the third hattrick of the tournament. Faulkner and Roberts fell shortly after to Roberts and Marshall respectively despite playing defensive strokes. The long batting lineup didn't help South Africa at all as each batsman quickly made their way back to the sheds. Ambrose did most of the damage to the middle and lower-order batsman and finished with figures of 5-7. South Africa only managed 75 runs.

South Africa 75

West Indies
Five overs in and the West Indies were already over halfway to their target score and had only lost one wicket. Richards hit Faulkner for 4 in the ninth over to give the West Indies one of the biggest wins of the tournament. The much-needed NRR will surely come in handy judging by how crowded the top six are becoming.

South Africa 75
K Wessels 25, B Mitchell 14
C Ambrose 5-7, J Garner

West Indies 1-77
G Greenidge 28 no, G Headley 24
A Donald 1-42

South Africa lost by 9 wickets
C Ambrose was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Round 11 Results

Round 11

PAK lost to AUS

SL lost to SA

NZ drew with IND

ENG lost to WI

Current Standings

Ladder	Played	Wins	N/R	NRR	Total
Australia	11	9		1.03	18
West Indies	11	7		0.62	14
India	11	6	2	0.55	14
New Zealand	11	6	1	0.64	13
England	11	6		-0.70	12
South Africa	11	5	1	0.24	11
Pakistan	11	2		-0.75	4
Sri Lanka	11	1		-2.04	2

Top 6 teams will progress to the finals.

Tournament Stat Leaders

Player	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
D Lehmann	475	J Garner	23
M Waugh	405	C Ambrose	22
G Headley	335	A Faulkner	20
S Anwar	327	F Trueman	20
Z Abbas	319	B Willis +3 others	19

Round 12 Fixture

Round 12

PAK vs AUS

SL vs SA

NZ vs IND

ENG vs WI

[Wilted]

Game 44: England vs West Indies
England XI: A Stewart+, G Hick, F Woolley, C Milburn, W Grace, D Gower, I Botham, T Greig*, P DeFreitas, F Trueman, B Willis
West Indies XI: G Greenidge, G Headley, C Lloyd, V Richards, B Lara, G Sobers, C Walcott, M Marshall, C Ambrose, A Roberts, J Garner
England won the toss and elected to bowl first.

West Indies
Both England and the West Indies have had a lull in form over the last few matches and went from fighting for a top-two finish to fighting to finish in the top half of the table. Both teams would be desperate for a win here today. Headley hit his first ball into the stands for 6 but Greenidge managed to hit his first straight into the hands of DeFreitas. Most of the West Indies' runs came from Headley and he brought up his 50 with a 6. None of the English bowlers were able to find a flaw to exploit in Headley and Lara's attacks until Trueman had Headley caught in the deep for 73. A late three-wicket haul from Botham prevented the West Indies going too big but with 176 runs on the board, England had a lot of work to do.

West Indies 7-176

England
Two ducks in the first over showed everyone why the West Indies are still one of the favourites to take this tournament out. Garner ended up with three wickets from two overs. The West Indies had taken four wickets in the first 10 overs of the had given away 67 runs. England needed an unlikely 110 runs in the same amount of time. Grace reached 50 runs but the game was almost out of hand by then. In the last over, the West Indies needed to restrict England to 26 runs or less to win. Grace and DeFreitas managed to score 13 of the required runs, leaving West Indies the victors.

West Indies 7-176
G Headley 73, B Lara 42
I Botham 3-22, F Trueman 2-45

England 7-163
W Grace 66 no, D Gower 34
J Garner 4-27, C Ambrose 2-41

England lost by 13 runs
J Garner was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 43: New Zealand vs India
New Zealand XI: B Sutcliffe, J Wright, B Congdon, C Harris, M Crowe*, A Jones, R Hadlee, I Smith+, L Cairns E Chatfield, J Saunders
India XI: S Gavaskar, A Jadeja, V Kambli, M Azharuddin, A Malhotra, K Dev*, V Yadav+, J Srinath, B Bedi, A Kumble
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl.

India
Both India and New Zealand have had a fantastic run after the first few rounds of the tournament and have thrust themselves into contention for a top-two spot. New Zealand started with a few economical overs, which resulted in Jadeja playing a reckless shot and being caught behind. A few big hits from Gavaskar and Kambli got the Indians' innings on the way. Unfortunately, it was hard for Gavaskar to maintain momentum as wickets fell around him but he reached 50 to keep the Indians in the match. New Zealand took five wickets for just seven runs in the last three overs to restrict India to 142 runs.

India 9-142

New Zealand
New Zealand got off to a flying start, scoring 54 runs without loss in the first five overs. India's first wicket was Wright for 21 but it was Sutcliffe who was causing headaches for the bowlers, scoring 50 off 32 balls. Mankad finally got him caught out in the deep off a top-edge for 62 but the damage was already done. New Zealand needed just 30 runs off the remaining six overs. Lazy batting and tight bowling sent the game down to the final over where New Zealand needed eight runs to win. With just one run needed Harris was run out leaving the scores tied with a ball to spare and Crowe to face the Mankad. Mankad dished up a half-tracker outside off stump that Crowe tried to hit the cover off but only hit fresh air, ending the game in a tie for the second time this tournament.

India 9-142
S Gavaskar 62, K Dev 35 no
L Cairns 3-29, E Chatfield 2-25

New Zealand 4-142
B Sutcliffe 68, M Crowe 22 no
K Dev 1-19, V Mankad 1-26

Match tied
B Sutcliffe was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 42: Sri Lanka vs South Africa
Sri Lanka XI: R Kaluwitharana+, S Jayantha, T Samaraweera, A de Silva*, A Ranatunga, D Mendis, U Chandana, T Paranavitana, K Dharmasena, R Ratnayeke, P Wickramasinghe
South Africa XI: B Mitchell, K Wessels, A Faulkner, J Rhodes*, G Pollock, L Klusener, H Cronje, C Rice, D Richardson+, P Pollock, A Donald
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl.

South Africa
The tradition of first-ver wickets continued when Wickramasinghe bowled Wessels for a golden duck. It only went worse for the Proteas from there. Faulkner never looked comfortable in his sluggish innings before being dismissed and Rhodes was run out without facing a ball. The only person keeping the South Africans in the game was Mitchell. He reached 50 off 32 balls and had thankfully found a partner in Cronje who could stick around a bit. The pair put South Africa in a favourable position before Sri Lanka's spinners took four wickets across 10 balls. An unlikely slogfest from Rice and Donald for the last-wicket partnership took South Africa to a promising 165 runs.

South Africa 9-165

Sri Lanka
Aside from an early run out, Sri Lanka looked to be on top of things early in the chase. Sri Lanka's efforts with the bat had them ahead, especially thanks to Samraweera's quick 31, until the South African quicks picked up a couple of wickets to even things out again. Faulkner came on and in the space of three balls completely turned the match on its head. He had de Silva caught behind just as he was looking to score quickly and then Mendis tried to pull out a reverse sweep slog and made a mess of it the next ball. On a hattrick, Faulkner bowled a regulation leg break that didn't turn and struck Chandana plumb in front. Sri Lanka never recovered from the sudden collapse and were bowled out for just 108 runs.

South Africa 9-165
B Mitchell 62, H Cronje 32
T Samaraweera 2-23, K Dharmasena 2-30

Sri Lanka 108
T Samaraweera 31, A de Silva 17
A Faulkner 4-17, C Rice 2-14

Sri Lanka lost by 57 runs
A Faulkner was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 41: Pakistan vs Australia
Pakistan XI: S Anwar, A Sohail, Z Abbas, J Miandad, S Elahi, I Khan*, W Raja, M Khan+, W Akram, A Qadir, W Younis
Australia XI: V Trumper, M Waugh, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, M Bevan, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warne, D Lillee, J Thomson
Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

Pakistan
After 10 rounds, Pakistan only had two wins to their name and was unlikely to make the finals since they would need at least three more wins and some fortunate results from other games to overtake South Africa. A win against top-of-the-table Australia will be a consolation prize. Anwar started proceeding by launching Lillee for 6 with the first ball and then replicated the same shot with the first ball of Lillee's second over. Five 6s were struck in the first five overs and the pair reached a 50-run partnership. Warne trapped Sohail LBW for 32 and Anwar was caught behind off Lindwall for 34 not long after. It was slow going for Abbas who took 20 deliveries to reach double figures and was eventually out in the 30s too. Miandad led Pakistan to a total of 143 runs.

Pakistan 4-143

Australia
Trumper and Waugh scored runs at a slow and steady pace to begin with, giving the chase a solid foundation before playing more risky shots. The first wicket fell to Qadir, bowling Waugh for 18 runs. Lehmann started his innings aggressively, bringing the required run rate below six an over. Trumper and Lehmann almost took Australia to victory but both batsmen were caught out before the finish line. Bradman and Bevan comfortably got the final runs for yet another Australian victory.

Pakistan 4-143
S Anwar 34, Z Abbas 33
S Warne 1-22, K Miller 1-24

Australia 3-147
V Trumper 59, D Lehmann 39
W Younis 1-18, A Qadir 1-29

Pakistan lost by 7 wickets
V Trumper was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Round 10 Results

Round 10

SA lost to NZ

IND defeated PAK

AUS defeated ENG

WI defeated SL

Current Standings

Ladder	Played	Wins	N/R	NRR	Total
Australia	10	8		1.07	16
India	10	6	1	0.61	13
New Zealand	10	6		0.71	12
West Indies	10	6		0.63	12
England	10	6		-0.70	12
South Africa	10	4	1	-0.05	9
Pakistan	9	2		-0.76	4
Sri Lanka	8	1		-1.95	2

Top 6 teams will progress to the finals.

Tournament Stat Leaders

Player	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
D Lehmann	436	C Ambrose	20
M Waugh	387	J Garner	18
S Anwar	293	B Willis	18
F Woolley	289	A Donald	18
Z Abbas	286	W Younis +1 other	18

Round 11 Fixture

Round 11

PAK vs AUS

SL vs SA

NZ vs IND

ENG vs WI

[Wilted]

Game 40: West Indies vs Sri Lanka
West Indies XI: G Greenidge, G Headley, V Richards, C Lloyd, B Lara, G Sobers*, M Marshall, A Roberts, J Garner, A Ambrose
T Paranavitana, S Jayantha, R Kaluwitharana, A Ranatunga, D Mendis, U Chadana, T Samaraweera, K Dharmasena, R Ratnayeke, P Wickramasinghe
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.

West Indies
The first over of the match was bowled by Chadana, who strung together six dot balls. His second over included just a single meaning he was bowling at just half a run an over. Runs flowed from the other end, especially from Headley. Dharmasena broke the 50-run partnership when Greenidge skied one to mid-on, ending his innings on 22 off 27. Runs were difficult to come by and the pressure soon led to wickets falling. A last-minute slogfest from Lara and Walcott allowed the West Indies to reach 153 runs.

West Indies 6-153

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka almost got off to a good start when they hit a number of 4s in the first two overs but a late couple of wickets held them back. Any time Sri Lanka looked like they were making progress, the West Indies would sneak in a wicket to keep them in check. Back in the team, Sobers was economical and picked up a couple of key wickets. Ambrose ended up tearing through the tail end to the point where Sri Lanka needed 36 runs off the last over with no wickets in the sheds remaining. Garner sealed victory with a wicket.

West Indies 6-153
G Headley 36, C Lloyd 31
P Wickramasinghe 2-37, R Ratnayeke 1-23

Sri Lanka 122
A Ranatunga 33 no, S Jayantha 23
C Ambrose 3-19, J Garner 2-21

West Indies won by 31 runs
C Ambrose was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 39: Australia vs England
Australia XI: V Trumper, M Waugh, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, M Bevan, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warner, D Lillee, J Thomson
England XI: G Hick, W Grace, F Woolley, D Gower, C Milburn, A Stewart+, I Botham, T Greig*, P DeFreitas, F Trueman, B Willis
England won the toss and elected to bowl.

Australia
Australia got underway with a couple of boundaries from Trumper but a risky two turned into a wicket. Lehmann didn't miss a step as he walked out to the crease, hitting five 4s from his first 12 balls. Greig had Waugh caught at mid-off after he and Lehmann had put on over 60 runs together but Greig overstepped allowing Waugh to continue towards 50. Both batsmen raised their bats for 50 off Grace's first over of the tournament. Grace followed up a subpar first over with the wicket of Lehmann in his second. The wicket broke a record-breaking 120-run partnership between the two batsmen. In his third over, Grace had Waugh marching back to the pavilion. Australia were heading towards 200 at one stage but after a couple of quick wickets, they never got going again and finished with 166 runs.

Australia 5-166

England
Grace could not back up his bowling effort with the bat and was bowled by Lillee in the first over. England was scoring at a rate that would easily put them on track to win but losing a few early key wickets in the first few overs kept them in check. Once the dust settled from the opening collapse, Milburn stood tall to reach 50 and get England back on track. The way Milburn and Stewart were batting suggested they could achieve the 42 runs needed off the last five overs comfortably. The wicket of Milburn didn't slow things down since Botham came in swinging at Thomson. Miller and Thomson then put on back-to-back boundaryless overs to leave England needing 16 runs off the final over. A couple of dots and a wicket left England needing two sixes off the last two balls to win but they only managed a single and Australia walked away with a narrow win.

Australia 5-166
M Waugh 63, D Lehmann 56
W Grace 2-27, B Willis 1-19

England 6-157
C Milburn 54, A Stewart 36 no
K Miller 2-23, D Lillee 2-38

Australia won by 9 runs
M Waugh was awarded Man of the Match.

[Wilted]

Game 38: India vs Pakistan
India XI: S Gavaskar, A Jadeja, V Kambli, M Azharuddin, K Dev*, A Malhotra, V Mankad, V Yadav+, A Kumble, J Srinath, B Bedi
Pakistan XI: S Anwar, A Sohail, Z Abbas, J Miandad, R Raja, I Khan*, W Raja, M Khan*, W Akram, A Qadir, W Younis
India won the toss and elected to bowl.

Pakistan
A 6 and two 4s helped Anwar to 15 runs off the first over off Dev. After two overs, Anwar had reached 24 runs off 11 balls, leaving Sohail only having faced one. Five overs hadn't even gone before Anwar reached 49 runs while Sohail was struggling in the single digits still. Kumble put Sohail out of his misery for just four runs. Just like Sohail, Abbas wasn't hitting the middle and only got away with a few streaky edges for 4 to get runs before being caught behind off Srinath. Even though he only spent seven overs at the crease, Anwar had faced 31 deliveries and made 65 runs. His 32nd delivery faced was top-edged off Kumble for an easy catch. Bedi bowled his first ball of the match to R Raja who hit it straight back to the bowler for a simple catch. Thankfully Anwar had set such a good platform that a mini-collapse didn't affect them too much. The only other batsman who managed to make it into double digits was Miandad who made 50 runs fairly quickly but turned it up another gear in the final couple of overs. He finished unbeaten on 63 runs, helping Pakistan to a tournament-high score of 190.

Pakistan 8-190

India
A win here would consolidate India as one of the contenders for a top 2 spot for finals but they'd have to pull off the highest chase so far this tournament to do so. Gavaskar got off to a shaky but successful start. He was dropped on zero, then edged one just out of reach for slip for 4. The next ball he faced was hit flush and went soaring into the crowd. After an over of missed opportunities for Akram, he bounced back in his following over and picked up the wickets of Gavaskar, Jadeja and Kambli. Azharuddin and Dev kept India in the chase by hitting a number of boundaries while Akram was rotated out of the attack. The pair put on a more than steady 50 partnership but the required run rate was slowly creeping up. Both batsmen passed 50 but with five overs left, Azharuddin was bowled by Qadir to set up an exciting finish. Malhotra got off a couple of big hits before falling to Younis and India needed 45 runs off the final four overs with a dangerous-looking Dev at one end.

Akram with three wickets was set to bowl the final over with Dev on strike. The remaining runs sat at 16. A leading edge for 4 and then a lofted stroke between third man and deep point off Dev gave India the best chance possible. A punch for 4 through the off side and India needed just two runs off three balls. Younis had his man with the fourth ball. Kumble swung widely at a full, straight delivery that went straight mid-off... only to be put down allowing India to run two for what will surely be one of the most memorable matches of the tournament!


Pakistan 8-190
S Anwar 65, J Miandad 63 no
A Kumble 3-34, V Mankad 2-35

India 7-191
K Dev 69, M Azharuddin 51
W Akram 4-43, A Qadir 1-29

India won by 3 wickets
K Dev was awarded Man of the Matcg