Pakistan vs West Indies
As it was early days for limited overs cricket with teams still finding their feet in the format, a lot of the matches were woefully one-sided. There was one match though, that would have had current viewers of thrill-a-minute T20 matches gnawing through their nails.
It was the only match in which West Indies were dominated. The match was a sort of quarterfinal – the winner would be ensured a place in the semis, and Pakistan, batting first, put on a competitive 266 on board with fifties from Majid Khan, Wasim Bari and Mushtaq Mohammad. A run rate above four was quite respectable at the time, and chasing the target against a competitive Pakistan attack was not going to be easy.
West Indies romped to victory against Sri Lanka in their previous match without even having to flex their muscles, but any complacency was jolted out of their system by Sarfraz Nawaz early in their chase. He dispatched the West Indies’ formidable top three of Greenidge, Fredericks and Kallicharan by the time the score reached thirty-six. Lloyd and Kanhai combined to put up forty-eight runs, and just as things were looking good for the batting side, Kanhai was bowled by medium-pacer Naseer Malik for 24. Richards came and departed fifteen runs later. Allrounder Julien stuck around for forty deliveries while his captain scored runs at a good pace to reach 53 off 58, but both fell within two runs of each other, and the score read a sorry 151 for 7. It soon became 166 for eight, and after some resistance from Holder, West Indies were staring defeat in the face at 203 for 9, with wicketkeeper Deryck Murray and number 11 Andy Roberts trying to put together a miracle recovery.
And a miracle it was. Danger man Sarfraz was bowled out by captain Majid Khan in a bid to skittle the opposition out, but although he did claim Holder, the plan eventually was fruitless. Murray and Roberts, learning a lesson from their top order colleagues who were guilty of unnecessary haste, patiently made their way to 267. Roberts, who hit three fours in only his second one-day match, got the winning run with a tap to midwicket off the fourth ball of the last over. Deryck Murray, who shepherded the partnership, ended on 61 off 76 balls.
The two teams thereafter tread contrasting paths in the tournament. Pakistan lost their next match against Australia, and had to go home in the knowledge that only one wicket separated them from a semi-final spot.
An interesting anecdote serves as a refreshing reminder of the relaxed atmosphere of cricket administration in those days. According to Murray in an article for Cricinfo about the match, the Man of the Match adjudicator Tom Graveney, having watched Sarfraz pick up his fourth wicket and reducing West Indies to 203 for 9, left for the bar. He came back in time for the presentation, and gave the award to Sarfraz Nawaz. When asked why, he replied, “Sarfraz has taken four wickets and it is normal for a player from the winning team to get the award.” Someone then pointed out that West Indies were the winners. That was the first he got to know of the result of the game!
