#OTD in 2000: Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja featured in their last match for India

On this day in 2000, the finest Indian cricketers, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja made their final appearance for India in International Cricket. 

In the 5th match of the Asia Cup, the Indian team clashed with Pakistan and needed a win to sail through the Finals. 

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. The openers Saeed Anwar (43) and Imran Nazir (29) provided a stable start to the team. But Indian spinner Anil Kumble shattered their hopes of playing long innings. 

Pakistan captain Moin Khan contributed a 46 run knock, and Mohammad Yousuf hit a century on the last ball of the innings to help the team post a total of 295. Kumble was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps, while Ajit Agarkar and Amit Bhandari took two wickets each. 

India lost captain Sourav Ganguly (8) in the fifth over. Subsequently, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid stitched together a brisk stand to recover the team and steered at a satisfactory run rate. 

Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq ended Dravid’s innings of 26 off 32 deliveries in the 12th over. The right arm fast bowler followed it with a double strike to dismiss Azharuddin (1) and Tendulkar (25) in his next over. At that moment, India was at 75/4. 

Then, the Jamnagar-born Ajay Jadeja arrived at the crease, and Robin Singh played the perfect second fiddle. Both the batters were impressive in picking out the bad balls and hitting them for a boundary. 

In the 28th over, Singh was dismissed by Azhar Mahmood for 21 off 38 balls, and the score stood at 124/5. 

The tail-enders could not provide considerable contributions, but Jadeja kept attacking finely. He was finally dismissed on 93, with eight fours and four sixes. In the wake of his wicket, Team India lost the match by 44 runs. 

This loss also signalled India’s exit from the tournament, and Pakistan went on to win their first-ever Asia Cup Trophy. 

In the 50-overs format, Jadeja finished with 5359 runs in 196 matches at an average of 37.47, with six centuries. The former Indian captain Azharuddin featured in 334 ODIs, and hit 9378 runs at an average of 36.92, with a top score of 153*. 

The two prominent batters could not prolong their career after being accused of match-fixing later in the same year.