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Flashback: The ODI that turned around India's fortunes in Australia


The period of Sourav Ganguly's captaincy was one where the Indian team progressively broke long-established barriers to their performance. Famous test victories in Zimbabwe, West Indies, England, Australia, and Pakistan were ample proof that the Indian side was well over the dreadful 1990s when winning away from home was a distant dream. 

But among the string of overseas Test triumphs that Ganguly's side engineered, there were also highly notable ODI triumphs. One of them came at Brisbane in January 2004 and broke a near 13-year drought for the Indian side. 

On January 18, India played Australia at the famous Gabba stadium, having lost their previous 11 matches to the then reigning world champions on their home soil. In the tri-series, also involving a spirited Zimbabwe, that this match was a part of, they had lost their first game against Australia after putting up a tough fight. 

This time, the Indians benefitted from a reassuring inning by Sachin Tendulkar, the type he used to play in those days, and a hundred from VVS Laxman who was having the greatest one week of his ODI career - he scored three hundreds in four matches in this period. 

With Sachin's 86 and Laxman's 103*, India posted a challenging total of 303. However, this was Australia at the peak of their powers and no score looked safe against them. With Matthew Hayden deciding to play a majestic knock of 109, Indian were in danger of losing their grip on the match. 

But what made the difference was the resolute performance by the young and upcoming pace duo of Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji. It would be the tour of Pakistan, following this series where these two became proper stars. But in the colosseum-like arena of Gabba, they held their nerve against the imposing batting line-up of Aussies to keep the target safe. 

The veteran Anil Kumble also played a key part in India's victory. Though he didn't pick up a wicket, Kumble managed to turn the screws on Australia with tight bowling. But the surprise package of the match was debutante Rohan Gavaskar, that too, with the ball. 

At a very crucial stage in the match, when Hayden and Andrew Symonds seemed to put Australia in cruise control, Ganguly brought junior Gavaskar into the attack to bowl left-arm wrist spin, otherwise known as 'Chinaman.' Lo and behold, Symonds popped a return catch back to Rohan and he dived to his right for a brilliant take. 

When the match finally ended with the home team getting bowled out for 284 in 49.4 overs, India had broken another barrier - an ODI win over Australia in Australia. 

Sadly, they couldn't follow it up and by the end of the tri-series, the Indian side was out of steam and crumbled helplessly against the might of Australians. But for a whole generation of millenials, it was another sweet memory to lighten up their childhood. 

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