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In cricket they say that a match is not over till the last ball has been bowled. This is so true if you recall the Australasia Cup final that Pakistan won on the last ball. Javed Miandad, the batsman who played that ball remembers it well, as do his millions of fans, most of them becoming ardent admirers of the player’s skill after his unbelievable last ball sixer.
Twenty-five years on he shares that experience with Dawn.
“A match with traditional rivals India is always looked forward to with much anticipation by the Pakistani nation. The same feeling, with opposite results of course, is shared by our Indian neighbours. It was in such charged atmosphere that Pakistan clashed with India in the final of the Australasia Cup on April 18, 1986,” says Miandad about the first edition of the Australasia Cup featuring Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka besides the finalists Pakistan and India.
The event’s first round saw India beating New Zealand and Pakistan doing the same to Australia to move into the semi-finals where India did away with Sri Lanka while Pakistan crushed New Zealand by bowling them out for 64 runs. Pakistan’s googly expert Abdul Qadir took four wickets while giving away only nine runs in the 10 overs that he bowled. But that achievement was soon overshadowed by Miandad after he managed to do what superheroes do in comic books or movies.
“I really felt like the chosen one after hitting that six,” says Miandad, the legendary hero of that game. “It’s the wish of every living person to be able to achieve something big in life. I, too, often prayed to God to help me achieve something so big in my career that my name be immortalised by the deed. And my God made my wish come true,” he adds.
“Today if we look back to analyse that match, it doesn’t seem like a regular encounter. It really wasn’t. For starters, batting first, India managed to put on a massive 245 runs on the board. It was the highest score in Sharjah then and we were already under psychological pressure. The pressure increased as Pakistan’s top order returned to the pavilion one by one. That’s when I realised the responsibility on my shoulders,” Miandad recalls.
“At that point, I didn’t think we could chase the target to win the match but what I aimed for was not to lose too badly and for Pakistan to look respectable at least. I wanted to stay at the wicket till the end and I did while also making a century as I kept my nerves in check despite running out of partners,” he continues.
“The last 20 overs were very different from the rest of the match. They can serve as a lesson for students on how you bounce back from hopelessness to claim a match; if you are determined the sky is the limit for you. Some quick mathematics will tell you that it is possible to score 36 runs in an over. But that’s wishful thinking, while batting in the last over I had to remain practical. The man at the crease was not a batsman but a specialist bowler, Tauseef Ahmed. I told him to take a run to give me the strike. Much excitement and drama followed when Mohammad Azharuddin, otherwise an excellent fielder, missed running out Tauseef who took a run to let me face the last ball. And then the last ball was going to be bowled. I had already got my wish of batting till the end and making my team look respectable, now I wanted us to win the match,” says Miandad.
“We needed four runs to win. Over there was India’s Chetan Sharma with the ball. I knew he wouldn’t give me a chance. But I was willing to make a mile out of an inch. I expected him to bowl in the block hole to make it impossible for me to dig out the ball and make it go far. I decided to come out of my crease to meet the delivery halfway to turn it into a boundary. This was the last ball; I had already made 110 runs, what had I got to lose?
“God helps those who help themselves. Even though Chetan did attempt for a yorker, the ball somehow slipped out of his hand turning it into a full toss delivery, which I hit with all my might, and ... lo and behold ... it was a six! Pakistan had won!” Miandad’s eyes sparkle as he relives the glory.
“Today everyone gives the example of that six when seeing some team in trouble in the last overs. It can happen like Miandad made it happen, they say trying to pull up saging spirits. The Indians have never been able to forget the incident and have even reenacted parts of it in movie screenplays, Lagaan being the most notable,” Miandad laughs.
“But I really feel for poor Chetan Sharma, whose career was as good as over after that. It shouldn't happen that way. You cannot be exceptional all the time. One day you play well, another day you don’t. It’s all a part of the game,” the great batsman sums up.
