The Hindu : Sport : Chepauk — the past, present and future

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Monday, Nov 21, 2005

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Chepauk — the past, present and future

Nandita Sridhar

DOWN MEMORY LANE: Zimbabwe's John Traicos bowls to Australian captain Allan Border in a 1987 World Cup encounter in Chennai. — File photo: K. Gajendran

Chennai: Cricket and Chennai. Two words that spark off images of tied Tests, Sachin's sixes, Saeed's sizzler, and lest we forget, the city's very own claim to fame and weapon of mass perspiration, the scorching sun. And if that weapon doesn't strike too hard, the zooming levels of humidity can always play Super Sub.

The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, also known as Chepauk, is not just a cricket ground. It's more of a theatre, which stages not just cricket, but a dash of drama, some moments of near-nervous disorders, and for the men with a quest for changing mathematical figures with as much ridiculous ease as changing their team's fortunes, there is no better place to break a record or two.

Sunil Gavaskar did it in 1983-84, when he bettered Don Bradman's record of 29 Test hundreds, Narendra Hirwani bowled freakishly brilliant leg-spin to claim the best analysis by a player on Test debut, finishing with 16 wickets for 136, and more recently, Saeed Anwar took the crowd through a mood swing, from agony to awe, by producing an unbelievably breathtaking 194 — the highest ODI score in history.

And what more can be said about the 1986-87 tied Test, that wouldn't make this a story of clichés? It is almost as if the crowd, often hailed as the most knowledgeable and sporting, deserves better than just a game. And in more than one occasion, they have got their due.

Most Test wins

Having produced the most number of Test wins for the nation (nine), Chepauk's ODI record is as colourful as the clothing. Here are some memorable matches and moments, right from the 1987 India-Australia World Cup show, to the 2003 washed out India-New Zealand match.

India vs Australia: October 9 1987 (World Cup). Australia won by one run:

Two words will suffice to describe this match. Déjà vu. It was almost surreal. India, Australia, Chepauk and Maninder Singh. Perfect ingredients for a tug-of-war ending with a broken rope. No team wins. After Geoff Marsh and David Boon sent the ball on a repeated tour of the boundary ropes, the Aussies reached a competitive 270.

And the one word that made headlines during the innings was `two'. Dean Jones hit ball with bat, and what happened then was the raging debate. The earlier call was four, but umpire Dickie Bird raised his hand and a debate, by changing it to six. The scorers didn't notice and confusion erupted. Finally, during lunch, Indian captain Kapil Dev agreed to award the two runs to the Aussies.

The Indian essay was punctuated with Sidhu's sixes as Sunil Gavaskar and Krish Srikkanth started well. The Indians were cruising and when they do that, they always stop and think — why not make it a little hard for us? Promptly And pomptly, wickets tumbled. On Indian pitches where sometimes even the most ferocious bouncers don't peep over the pad, Craig McDermott threw in a shower of yorkers and the only remotely ice-like factor in Chennai, Steve Waugh, did the most difficult thing, keeping it simple and straight.

With six needed off the last four balls, last-man Maninder stood his ground till the penultimate ball, when he was bowled by Waugh. A solitary run was what stood between a complete Déjà vu of the tied Test. But it was a Déjà vu of a different kind. India had again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Australia vs Zimbabwe: October 13 1987 (World Cup), Australia won by 96 runs:

With India not playing this time, the sun and the humidity showed no mercy. More than runs, wickets and the likes, heat, humidity, sweat and sun proved most players' nemesis, and drinks break were taken every 45 minutes. Brand new avenues of perspiration were discovered. Apart from the customary shirt-drenching, sweat poured out from eyeballs and shoelaces too, as the Aussies defended a score of 235.

More than the shot of the day, what eventually stood out was the shout of the day. Dean Jones, in a maddening victorious moment, threw the ball up in celebration. The ball travelled, took a fancy for a sleeping child and was set to land on it. A screaming spectator saved the child's life and Jones' living.

India vs West Indies: October 23 1994 (Wills World Series), India won by four wickets:

When your only poor shot in 81 runs is the one that takes you to the pavilion, it's not a mere indication, but more of a screaming declaration of class. Mohammad Azharuddin, who has habitually displayed that wrists are not just for spinners, produced an innings mixed with class and aristocratic elegance. Scoring 81 off 84 balls, his wristy cuts and pulls nudged India home, chasing West Indies' 221, after Lara and Hooper did a Caribbean Calypso of their own.

To be concluded

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