Senseless Memories Part 2

March 1996..Two grade 4 kids(that's me and Vikramjit by the way...) talking about a cricket match that took place just the other day. Here's the link for you

http://content.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/engine/match/65184.html

For those who don't want to go into details..

It was India vs Zimbabwe, Group A match. World Cup 1996. India batted first.

Sachin, Manjrekar and Azhar were out very cheaply. Navjot Sidhu scored 80, Vinod Kambli scored 106(his second and last ODI century) and Ajay Jadeja scored 44*. Jadeja was the man of the match eventually. India won the match by 40 runs.

Vikram:   Tune match dekha?

Aviral:     haan dekha tha!!! (with a sad look on my face)Sachin keval 3 run par out ho gaya( ...yes!! I was an avid Sachin fan even in those days..)

Vikram:   (with an air of someone who knows it all)Abey, vo isliye kyoki kal India match haarna chahti thi.

Aviral:      (with an astonished look)  pagal hai kya? Zimbabwe se haarenge?

Vikram:   Abey isiliye to Sachin, Azhar, Manjrekar itni jaldi out ho gaye.

Aviral:      match kyo harna chahenge?

Vikram:  Agar match jeet jate to Pakistan se khelna padta naa Quarter final me...(watching India beat Pakistan was a rare sight in those days....it remained that way for a long time)

Aviral:     Fir jeet kaise gaye?

Vikram:  Abey jab Azhar out ho kar jaa raha tha to usne Sidhu se kaha ki yar Pakistan se haare to koi baat nahi, but Zimbabwe se haarenge to bahut beizzati ho jayegi..Isiliye Sidhu ne 80 aur Kambli ne 106 run banaye..

Aviral:     Oh...aisa tha kya!!!

(I nod in agreement. I got his point. I am convinced, Vikram is  satisfied )

3 days later India went on to meet Pakistan in quarter finals and beat them at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore. That match is a legend, something for the history books. Will write about it some other time.