Playing It My Way: My Autobiography (15 page)

After that I no longer had to plead with Wadekar Sir to allow me to open and I continued to score runs in that position for the rest of the series, which ended up being tied 2–2. It was no surprise because New Zealand at home were always formidable opponents. In this series, I was able to dictate terms to the bowlers and all my plans were working out well. For example, against Gavin Larsen, known to be a bowler who bowled a stump-to-stump line, I came down the wicket a couple of times, forcing him to adjust his length. When he bowled short I was waiting for it and promptly dispatched the ball to the stands.

With one aim achieved, I was determined to accomplish the second as soon as possible. I had started to feel frustrated and a little embarrassed at not having scored a hundred in ODI cricket. Having already played seventy-odd games, it was about time. The moment finally came against Australia in Sri Lanka in the Singer World Series in September 1994 and it was more of a relief than anything else. So much of getting to a century is in the mind. Once you score one, you know you can score another and the doubts aren’t there any more – getting the first one is the tricky bit. My first ODI hundred certainly soothed the nerves and it was an important milestone in my career.

With five years of experience, I was now firmly established in the Indian team and people had started comparing me with other players on the international scene at the time. The press love to set up rivalries and with a home series against the West Indies coming up at the end of 1994, it was inevitable that the fans and the media would pit me against Brian Lara.

Without doubt Brian Lara is one of the best players to have played this sport. I first met Brian in November 1990 during a festival match in Toronto between the West Indies and a World XI, which was played at the SkyDome, a stadium designed for Major League Baseball. We got along straight away and I enjoyed talking to him and listening to his insights. He was a clear thinker and had an excellent grasp of the nuances of the game. To add to his unrivalled flamboyance, he also had great hands and footwork, making him a champion batsman of our time. Brian was capable of playing a number of shots to the same delivery and his ability to adjust at the last moment set him apart. His technique wasn’t orthodox but that had never mattered to him. He more than made up for it with skill and footwork.

By the time the West Indies came to India in November–December 1994, Brian was already the premier batsman of his team. We knew we had to stop Brian from scoring to have a chance in the Test series, but it was easier said than done, and Brian played a very important role for the West Indies in the third and final Test at Mohali. It was his innings of 91 that set the platform for a series-levelling West Indies win. For the visitors, Jimmy Adams too played a crucial part, with 252 runs in the match.

I had a pretty good series and in the first match at Mumbai I was pleased with my performance in the second innings, scoring 85 after coming in to bat at a precarious 11–3. We won the match by 96 runs, having managed to get Brian out early in both innings. In the second Test at the VCA stadium in Nagpur, I scored 179 in our first innings. I remember this innings for my wild celebrations after scoring the century, something I hardly ever did in my career. In fact, it was an aberration, caused by a combination of factors. I was not out on 81 overnight and started the second day against the second new ball. I hit Kenneth Benjamin for four fours in the first few overs and raced to 97 in no time. Courtney Walsh was bowling from the other end and I was trying to get into his mind, to understand what he was likely to do. I had a feeling he would bowl outside off stump or full if he wanted to get me out. On the other hand, he would probably bowl bouncers if he just wanted to keep me quiet. He bowled a short ball and that’s when I realized that another one might be coming my way the very next delivery. I was ready. I played the hook to perfection and the ball sailed into the stands. It was an exhilarating way to get to a century and I just couldn’t control my emotions. I pumped my fists and screamed in joy, though none of it was meant for Walsh. It was simply because my plan had come off.

The story of this series against the West Indies remains incomplete if I don’t talk about the five-match ODI series that preceded the Tests in October and November 1994. It was played in two parts. The first two ODIs were followed by a tri-series, with New Zealand joining India and the West Indies as the third team, before we went back to playing the last three games of the bilateral series.

In both of the first two ODIs against the West Indies, on 17 and 20 October, I was out without scoring. I didn’t do much better in the first match of the tri-series, on 23 October, making only eight. After just three failures, a surprising number of people started to find flaws with my game. While they might have been well-intentioned, it seemed that every ex-cricketer I met during the tri-series had some advice for me. Everyone was trying to tell me what was wrong with my game, which I found a little strange.

Yes, I had scored two consecutive ducks, but this reaction was extraordinary. Every performer goes through lean patches. I was still at ease with myself and knew that with one good score, things would fall back into place. That’s exactly what happened in the final of the tri-series, when I scored 66 at Eden Gardens. That was followed by three consecutive half-centuries in the bilateral series, culminating in a hundred in the final game at Jaipur on 11 November. I ended up as Player of the Series.

Having won the tri-series and also the five-match ODI series, we had given our fans a lot to cheer about. Coming on top of the Hero Cup win a year earlier, all these victories helped boost the popularity of ODI cricket in India ahead of the World Cup, which was being co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996. It was set to be a massive event.

1st Test. Durban. 13–17 November 1992

South Africa 254 (KC Wessels 118, JN Rhodes 41; Kapil Dev 3–43) and 176–3 (AC Hudson 55)

India 277 (PK Amre 103, KS More 55,
SR Tendulkar 11;
BM McMillan 3–52)

Match drawn

2nd Test. Johannesburg. 26–30 November 1992

South Africa 292 (BM McMillan 98, JN Rhodes 91; M Prabhakar 4–90) and 252 (AC Hudson 53, DJ Richardson 50; A Kumble 6–53)

India 227 (
SR Tendulkar 111
; BM McMillan 4–74) and 141–4 (A Jadeja 43,
SR Tendulkar 1
; CR Matthews 2–23, AA Donald 2–43)

Match drawn

3rd Test. Port Elizabeth. 26–29 December 1992

India 212 (M Azharuddin 60,
SR Tendulkar 6
; AA Donald 5–55) and 215 (Kapil Dev 129,
SR Tendulkar 0
; AA Donald 7–84, BN Schultz 2–37)

South Africa 275 (WJ Cronje 135, AC Hudson 52) and 155–1 (KC Wessels 95*;
SR Tendulkar 1–9
)

South Africa won by 9 wickets

4th Test. Cape Town. 2–6 January 1993

South Africa 360–9 dec (JN Rhodes 86, BM McMillan 52; A Kumble 3–101) and 130–6 dec (KC Wessels 34; J Srinath 4–33)

India 276 (
SR Tendulkar 73
, M Prabhakar 62; CR Matthews 3–32) and 29–1

Match drawn

South Africa won the series 1–0

1st Test. Kolkata. 29 January–2 February 1993

India 371 (M Azharuddin 182,
SR Tendulkar 50
; GA Hick 3–19, DE Malcolm 3–67) and 82–2 (NS Sidhu 37,
SR Tendulkar 9*
; GA Hick 2–9)

England 163 (MW Gatting 33; RK Chauhan 3–30, SLV Raju 3–39, A Kumble 3–50) and 286 (f/o) (MW Gatting 81, AJ Stewart 49; A Kumble 3–76, SLV Raju 3–80)

India won by 8 wickets

2nd Test. Chennai. 11–15 February 1993

India 560–6 dec (
SR Tendulkar 165
, NS Sidhu 106, PK Amre 78, Kapil Dev 66, VG Kambli 59)

England 286 (NH Fairbrother 83, AJ Stewart 74, GA Hick 64; SLV Raju 4–103) and 252 (f/o) (CC Lewis 117, RA Smith 56; A Kumble 6–64)

India won by an innings and 22 runs

3rd Test. Mumbai. 19–23 February 1993

England 347 (GA Hick 178, CC Lewis 49; Kapil Dev 3–35, A Kumble 3–95) and 229 (RA Smith 62, MW Gatting 61, GA Hick 47; A Kumble 4–70)

India 591 (VG Kambli 224, NS Sidhu 79,
SR Tendulkar 78
, PK Amre 57; PCR Tufnell 4–142

India won by an innings and 15 runs

India won the series 3–0

1st Test. Mumbai. 18–22 November 1994

India 272 (NR Mongia 80, SV Manjrekar 51,
SR Tendulkar 34
; CA Walsh 6–79) and 333 (
SR Tendulkar 85
, SV Manjrekar 66, J Srinath 60; KCG Benjamin 4–82)

West Indies 243 (SC Williams 49; SLV Raju 5–60) and 266 (JR Murray 85, JC Adams 81; J Srinath 4–48, SLV Raju 3–85)

India won by 96 runs

2nd Test. Nagpur. 1–5 December 1994

India 546–9 dec (
SR Tendulkar 179
, NS Sidhu 107, M Azharuddin 97, A Kumble 52*) and 208–7 dec (NS Sidhu 76,
SR Tendulkar 54
)

West Indies 428 (JC Adams 125*, CL Hooper 81, JR Murray 54, BC Lara 50, PV Simmons 50; SLV Raju 5–127) and 132–5 (CL Hooper 67; A Kumble 3–45)

Match drawn

3rd Test. Mohali. 10–14 December 1994

West Indies 443 (JC Adams 174, AC Cummins 50; A Kumble 4–90, SLV Raju 3–73) and 301–3 dec (BC Lara 91, JC Adams 78*, KLT Arthurton 70*)

India 387 (M Prabhakar 120, J Srinath 52*,
SR Tendulkar 40
) and 114 (J Srinath 17*, S Manjrekar 17,
SR Tendulkar 10
; KCG Benjamin 5–65, CA Walsh 3–34)

West Indies won by 243 runs

Series drawn 1–1

Our preparations for the World Cup began with a training camp in Bangalore in January 1996. For some reason, it had been decided by the management that it would be a good idea for the team to run from the hotel to the Chinnaswamy Stadium every morning, with the team bus and security cars trailing behind. I still don’t understand the logic behind this bright idea or why somebody came up with it in the first place. None of us were used to road running and injuries were bound to happen. I ended up with a sore shin on the very first day, while a number of other guys had problems with their backs and hamstrings.

A joke started doing the rounds in the dressing room about whether we would be fielding on the road or on the cricket field. We were all prepared to run as much as they liked on grass, but there was no point risking injuries by running on hard roads just weeks before the World Cup. A few players suggested calculating the distance between the hotel and the ground and running the same distance inside the stadium instead. The management listened to what we had to say and road running was quickly abandoned. Our World Cup preparations started in earnest the following morning.

During the camp we would get to the ground by 7 a.m. and stay there till 2 p.m. The sessions were long and draining and I made sure to have a big breakfast to keep up my energy levels. I was only twenty-three in 1996 and could digest everything I ate. Every morning I would have four fried eggs sunny side up, with ketchup and tabasco sauce, making two sandwiches of the four eggs, which I just loved. The breakfast would keep me going for hours and I thoroughly enjoyed the long training sessions. In the evenings we spent time in the pool or in the gym and soon all the players were looking forward to the tournament. No team had won the cup on home soil and it was our chance to make history.

Our first match was against Kenya at Cuttack in Odisha in Eastern India on 18 February and we won the match comfortably. I scored a hundred and was Man of the Match. We then moved on to Gwalior in the west of the country to play the West Indies three days later, confident of sustaining the momentum. While February in the east of India can be nippy, in the west the temperatures can touch 30 degrees during the day. I had a fever the night before the West Indies game but still played and contributed 70 to our victory, which was set up by some fine bowling by Prabhakar and Kumble once again. Early on in my innings Courtney Browne, the West Indies wicketkeeper, dropped a skier at short square leg and I was able to make the most of my reprieve.

Having won our first two games, we played Australia in Mumbai on 27 February, determined to upstage the tournament favourites. Australia batted well and put up a competitive 258, riding on a brilliant innings from Mark Waugh, the younger of the Waugh twins, who scored 126. We did not begin the chase well and lost two early wickets to Damien Fleming, who bowled well throughout the tournament. That’s when I tried to counter-attack, to get on top of Glenn McGrath and Fleming.

I managed to establish control and was going really well until the Australians gave the ball to Mark Waugh to have a go with his off-spin. I immediately picked up a couple of runs to square leg, followed by a sweep for four. As I’d hoped, the deep midwicket fielder was moved slightly towards square leg. Space at midwicket meant I could now go over the top for a boundary. Seeing me jump out, Mark Waugh bowled a wide ball. I couldn’t reach it and was out stumped for 90. I have to admit I had been out-thought. It was a key moment in the game and we soon lost control amid a flurry of wickets. It was dispiriting to lose the match from a winning position.

An odd thing happened during the break between innings in that Australia game. At the time, I was perhaps the only Indian player who was playing without a bat sponsor. Most players had ‘Four Square’ or ‘Wills’ on their bats, but my determination not to endorse a tobacco brand meant I was playing without a bat sticker. A few months before the tournament started, a leading multinational, which had just entered India, had approached me but talks had not progressed much. I had quoted an amount to them to which they did not agree. I was therefore surprised when, in the middle of the game, the managing director of this company came over to meet me and suggested that if I put his company’s sticker on my bat there and then, they would pay me any amount I wanted.