Indian cameos in the ODI World Cup: The memory of watching Ajay Jadeja hammer Waqar Younis in the 1996 World Cup is still fresh among Indian cricket fans. It was a stunning assault that helped India win over arch-rivals, Pakistan in the quarterfinal. Similarly important was the cameo from Sandeep Patil in the 1983 World Cup semifinal that helped India enter their maiden final. India eventually won the World Cup that year.
It is performances like these that change the momentum of the team completely. They are the knocks that galvanize a team. India has had many such cameos across the different World Cup editions.
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In part II of this series, we look at a few such defining Indian cameos in the ODI World Cup:
# Suresh Raina – 74 vs Pakistan, 2015
It was the first game of the World Cup for both sides. India walked into the tournament amidst a lot of pressure. They had not won a single game throughout their Australian tour leading into the World Cup. India won an important toss and chose to bat first. They lost the early wicket of Rohit Sharma who made just 15.
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli then steadied the ship with clever strike rotation and found the odd boundary. The former was run out for 73 and in walked Suresh Raina at number 4. He ensured that India maintained the left-hand, right-hand combination.
Raina soon changed the complexion of the game. He took on Yasir Shah in a calculated attack. The left-hander found boundaries at will. He stitched a 110-run partnership in less than 15 overs. Raina departed for an outstanding 56-ball 74 at a strike rate of 132.14. If Kohli’s 107 was the main act then Raina’s 74 ensured India aced their first match of the tournament.
#2 Hardik Pandya – 48 vs Australia, 2019
India had won their first game against South Africa albeit battling a few nerves. Their second game was against the defending champions, Australia. Opting to bat, India started strongly. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put on an opening stand of 127 while Dhawan and Virat Kohli added 93 for the second wicket. India at 220-2 in 37 overs was looking for a total in the range of 315-320. Hardik Pandya was promoted to number 4 ahead of KL Rahul.
He put on a blistering cameo that took the sting out of Australia’s attack. Pandya and Kohli added 81 runs in just 8.5 overs to bat Australia out of the game. The allrounder smashed 48 off 27 balls comprising 4 fours and 3 sixes at a strike rate of 192.85. India finished with a huge score of 352-5 on the board. They prevailed over Australia in a high-scoring game.
#1 Suresh Raina – 34* vs Australia, 2011
It was arguably India’s biggest challenge in the 2011 World Cup. They were up against Australia in the quarterfinal at Ahmedabad. India had not defeated Australia in any World Cup post-1987. Australia won the toss and captain Ricky Ponting’s century helped them post a par score of 260. India started well with their openers putting up a stand of 44 in 8.1 overs. All of India’s batters apart from MS Dhoni got off to a start.
But India kept losing wickets at regular intervals. At 187-5, India was in a spot of bother. Suresh Raina then produced his most valuable ODI knock to stun the Aussies. He combined beautifully with Yuvraj Singh to put an unbeaten stand of 74 in 61 balls. Raina made 34 off 28 scoring 2 fours and 1 six.
India broke the unbeaten streak of Australia in knockouts since 1999. They eventually went on to win the World Cup defeating Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the semis and finals respectively.
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