Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath are more than able batsmen - for the record, Kumble has scored a century against England and Srinath has made half-centuries against strong bowling attacks. But, they have not made their mark in ODI cricket with the bat much. Not until 1996 October.
Titan Cup. Yet another tournament that had India, Australia and South Africa. One of the league matches at Bengaluru between the hosts and Australia. Four of the main bowlers (Kumble, Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi) in the Indian team and two batsmen (Rahul Dravid and Sujith Somasunder) were playing in front of their home crowd.
Mark Taylor had scored his first ODI century in the first innings but there was not much support from the other end. Prasad and all the bowlers chipped in to restrict Australia to a total of 215. When India started to bat, Tendulkar saw his partners go back regularly. Sachin then put together a 79 run partnership with Ajay Jadeja to take India closer to the target. But, thanks to Taylor's bowling changes, India slumped to 164-8 with the fall of Sachin for 88.
52 runs were required in little more than eight overs. The Indian fans sensed that the end was nearer and started to walk back from the ground. The hometown heroes did not think so. With their parents and grand-parents watching from the stand, they set together on the journey to the target. The plan was that Srinath would try the big shots while Kumble would get the singles and give strike back. Striking Steve Waugh for a huge six, Srinath ensured that the target was reachable. After the big shot, both players once again intelligently rotated the strike to take the team to the victory post.
Titan Cup. Yet another tournament that had India, Australia and South Africa. One of the league matches at Bengaluru between the hosts and Australia. Four of the main bowlers (Kumble, Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi) in the Indian team and two batsmen (Rahul Dravid and Sujith Somasunder) were playing in front of their home crowd.
Mark Taylor had scored his first ODI century in the first innings but there was not much support from the other end. Prasad and all the bowlers chipped in to restrict Australia to a total of 215. When India started to bat, Tendulkar saw his partners go back regularly. Sachin then put together a 79 run partnership with Ajay Jadeja to take India closer to the target. But, thanks to Taylor's bowling changes, India slumped to 164-8 with the fall of Sachin for 88.
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| Start of the Partnership |
With this win, the Indian tail gained a reputation that it could wag whenever required. The opposition team used to breathe easy only when the last Indian wicket fell. For Srinath and Kumble, batting remained a secondary occupation but on the rare day, they would repeat some of the heroics they showed on this day.
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