‘Reminiscent of ’85 triumph’
Within two years after the country’s maiden World Cup triumph, India went on to win another major trophy — the World Championship of Cricket (WCC) in 1985. As M.S. Dhoni-led Team India —who won the World Cup in 2011 — lifted the Champions Trophy on Sunday, a sense of déja vu proved overwhelming for Kris Srikkanth.
Srikkanth says it’s difficult not to draw a parallel between India’s ’85 feat Down Under and the sparkling Champions Trophy show.
“The way the young Indian team dominated the tournament in England is reminiscent of our 1985 victory in Australia. Just like Dhoni’s team, we were unbeaten throughout. We were not considered favourites despite being the Cup holders,” Srikkanth, who was the WCC’s highest run-getter (238), told this newspaper.
Led-by Sunil Gavaskar, India had surprisingly emerged on top of Group A, beating Pakistan, Australia and England. The Indians then outsmarted New Zealand in the semis before getting the better of Pakistan by eight wickets in the final. That was the only instance of the WCC, which was organised as part of the celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of European settlement in Victoria. The Champions Trophy will also stay in India for ever, as it was the final edition of the tournament.
The similarities do not end there, says Srikkanth. The 1985 team saw two Tamil Nadu cricketers playing a key role. While Srikkanth stood on top of the batsmen list, leg-spinner L. Sivaramakrishnan finished as the highest wicket-taker.
“R. Ashwin was not just brilliant with the ball, he was also a revelation in fielding especially at first-slip. Dinesh Karthik’s back-to-back centuries in warm-up matches gave India much-needed confidence going into the tournament. Later, he did well in whatever chances he got,” added Srikkanth.
Before the WCC, a stupendous performance (84 and 41*) in a Test match against England at Kanpur was a morale-booster for the swashbuckling Srikkanth, who had been out of the Indian team for almost a year.
For current opener Shikhar Dhawan, a quickfire Test hundred on debut against Australia helped him emerge out of wilderness to force his way into the CT squad.
Srikkanth said fielding was another area that had a lot of resemblance to the class of 85 apart from the crucial role played by all-rounders.
The 1985 triumph unearthed two exciting talents in Sivaramakrishnan and Sadanand Viswanath, but both of them faded after a promising start. One can only hope that the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Dhawan don’t follow suit.
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