India v Zimbabwe Match at Ahmadabad 1987 Reliance World Cup

Originally posted 2022-11-20 09:52:21.

This is a match report of the India v Zimbabwe match at Ahmadabad played on October 26, 1987, in the second round of the Reliance World Cup. The obsession with the run rate is not restricted to the media box, which abounds with calculators. It has haunted the two teams in Group A, which were running neck and neck for the top spot. The need to avoid Pakistan and its Lahore den was real, and India could have taken a giant step towards doing that. Fit did not; it had only itself to blame.
India v Zimbabwe Match at Ahmadabad 1987 Reliance World Cup. Andy Pycroft, who made sizeable scores in the earlier matches, falls, more taking a fine catch off Chetan Sharma.
India v Zimbabwe match at the 1987 Reliance World Cup in Ahmadabad Andy Pycroft, who made sizeable scores in the earlier matches, falls, taking a fine catch off Chetan Sharma.
The difference in perceptions was real, too. Sunil Gavaskar saw it all as a batsman who knew what had to be one but who could not on that day, on which his entire batting rhythm was upset. Ahmadabad Ground is where he made history by scoring his 10,000th Test run, and yet the place has upset him. The movement over the screen is a pathetic index to a lack of knowledge of cricket. Other and more virulent forms of crowd behavior are even worse.
The captain was aware of the pressing need to win by a specific deadline. Whether he conveyed that properly and in time is not known. What it boils down to is that India was batting like a team that pretended to be unaware of the dictates of arithmetic. The winning habit is, of course, there. Four victories on the trot are something. The significance of that should not be lost. India is a reformed side after its defeat in the first match, and that had to be recognized.
No force; though, Zimbabwe was any force. Not after it had dropped four games. Kevin Arnott played a sheet-anchor role, collecting his 60 runs with methodical efficiency, and Kapil finally had him. Its batting has not come right, save in patches and in individual, rather than collective, performances. It had its moments in its two matches against New Zealand, but nothing more.
Jarvis struck an early blow for Zimbabwe. Kris Srikanth LBW for 6
Jarvis struck an early blow for Zimbabwe. Kris Srikanth LBW for 6
It seemed beaten the moment it was put in by Kapil Dev. There isn’t such depth in the batting that it can recover from an early slide. Kevin Arnott did well in holding for Andrew Waller did even better by pushing the score along with some superbly effective shots. The top order had not done well enough, dallying as it did with balls well wide of the stump as bowled by Chetan Sharma.
Yet there was sufficient space left for Dave Houghton to make a fighting total possible. He fell on the sweep, which only showed that he was taking the wrong route against the left arm spin. Andy Pycroft, who made sizeable scores in the earlier matches, falls, taking a fine catch off Chetan Sharma.
A low and straight-forward pitch, even if it tended to allow some ‘turn, ‘was part of conditions in which the weakness of Indian bowling could have been exposed. Manoj Prabhakar is not likely to reproduce his swing effect except in the right conditions. Only the Zimbabweans compounded their problems early by letting everything pass by without even aspiring to work as singles.
Save for a wide or two, Chetan Sharma bowled the correct line. He kept the ball moving beyond the off-stump. Zimbabwe had come into the slog over’s with little on the board, and unless there was a pinch hitter around, there was going to be no great improvement beyond the 200-mark.
Find of the season: Any Indian game plan with regard to making it to the target score in a specific over count was not going to work if Srikanth fell early, ‘And he did when surprised by one that left-handed medium pacer brought ‘back at him.
His failure against a line of attack from over the wicket is not new. No praise is too high for someone like Navjot Singh Sidhu who has now reeled off four half centuries in a row. That he invariably gets out in the 50s or 70’s might mean that there is a lapse in concentration levels.
Navjot Sidhu compiled his fourth 50. The youngster is receiving some advice from Gavasker, who was all passive resistance in that match.
Navjot Sidhu compiled his fourth 50. The youngster is receiving some advice from Gavasker, who was all passive resistance in that match.
Navjot Singh Sidhu has the equipment to go places in the one-day game. He has the shots, and he is improving from match to match in his handling of medium pacers. Greater coordination in running between the wickets is called for. He can be an awesome striker of spin, as he proved with that huge hit off John Traicos the very first time he faced this accurate off-spinner. The hit sailed a clear 100 feet ‘above the ground as it soared into the top tier of the Gujarat Stadium.
Sunil Gavaskar has been bogged down by Traicos in both outings. Apart from having his mood spoilt by the crowd, he had this great technical problem of a lack of true innovativeness in one-day ‘cricket. He has become a superb improviser against pace, but spin aimed at his feet has an adverse effect on him. His batting was aimed at producing a simple win. But then he says he was not informed in time of anything else.
Kapil Dev leads the charge. The captain said that he had sent a message out SM Gavaskar through Pandit. Even if he did, it was a bit late. Things could be managed only if he himself could come in since the tour of Australia in 1985–86. Kapil Dev has become somewhat inured to doing the job of middle-order striking single-handedly. Every time the scoring has dropped, he has come in to lead the charge. His success rate in such situations has been extraordinary.
Kapil Dev 41 were the innings of the day. No one else had the audacity to attempt what he did, let alone carry it off. From the wicket line, he picked the bowlers and swung. He was dropped from bed once on the long offline by Jarvis, but that is not a blemish to be ashamed of in one-day cricket, especially in the circumstances in which he was performing.
The down-to-earth simplicity of his batting style is a phenomenon. The ear twang in his speech is a part of his personality. From Bangalore onwards, he has done more than most in the shaping of his campaign. No one would want him to change or to be anything other than what he is.
India v Zimbabwe Match at Ahmadabad 1987 Reliance World Cup. Kevin Arnott played a sheet-anchor role collecting his 60 runs with methodical efficiency and Kapil finally had him.
India v Zimbabwe match at the 1987 Reliance World Cup in Ahmadabad Kevin Arnott played a sheet-anchor role, collecting his 60 runs with methodical efficiency, and Kapil finally had him.