Jadeja smashed a 25-ball 45 against a Pakistani attack comprising Waqar Younis at his peak in the quarter-final in Bengaluru.
Ajay Jadeja smashed four fours and two sixes during his 25-ball 45 against Pakistan in the 1996 Word Cup quarter-final. Image credit: Screengrab from video tweeted by @ICC
India and Pakistan have often played out a number of closely-fought contests over the years and this makes their rivalry even more special.
In the 1990s, Pakistan dominated India, but could never sustain this momentum when both the sides were pitted against one another in an ICC tournament. India’s unbeaten run against Pakistan started back in the 1992 World Cup and they have been victorious in all the editions barring the 2007 World Cup when both the sides were knocked out in the first round.
Reminiscing about one such historic encounter, former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif spoke about when India took on Pakistan in Bengaluru back in 1996 World Cup. It was the match that saw Ajay Jadeja at his absolute best and changed the complexion of the match with only nine overs remaining in the game. Vinod Kambli and Nayan Mongia struggled and at one stage India were at 236/6 with 20 balls remaining.
This was when Jadeja stepped up and smashed 45 off just 25 deliveries. He took India to their final score of 287 for 8. Pakistan’s star-studded bowling attack that included stalwarts like Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed, and Mushtaq Ahmed were rendered rather helpless.
Latif, spoke about the knock and said that it was the best bit of batting he saw against a Pakistan attack. “Jadeja, 1996, Bangalore. His wristwork was simply effortless. Waqar was bowling brilliantly at that time, but Jadeja’s batting was magnificent. It was a memorable knock,” Latif said on his official YouTube channel Caught Behind.
After posting 287 for 8, India’s bowlers restricted Pakistan to 248 for 9. Pakistan made a terrific start to their chase and openers Saeed Anwar (48) and Aamir Sohail (55) added 84 runs for the opening wicket in only 10 overs.
This was when the Indian bowlers hit back as Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble picked three wickets each, while Javagal Srinath and Venkatapathy Raju chipped in with a wicket each to derail Pakistan’s chase and eventually give India an easy win.
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