When Mohammad Azharuddin Motivated His Troop To Beat Pakistan During 'Kargil War'
India defeated Pakistan in 1999 WC [Twitter]
India and Pakistan share a rivalry that kick-started 76 years ago when the partition took place. Not only off the field, but the two nation have always had fierce battles on the field as well. Two of the strongest cricket playing nations, the INDO-PAK match rarely disappoints the fans as the excitement level reaches a new height.
The rivalry has an historical and cultural context and interestingly, the two nations once battle against each other amidst the 'Kargil War' that took place from 3rd May to 26th July in 1999.
Kargil War 1999
These were tough times for people of both the nations. The war erupted in 1999 and tensions grew in both the nations. It was learned that Pakistan militants had disguised themselves as Kashmiri militants and infiltrated the Indian side of Line of Control (LoC). The Indian troops retaliated and an unpleasant war began between India and Pakistan.
IND-PAK in WC 1999
During the same period, the Cricket World Cup took place in the United Kingdom. India and Pakistan were placed in different groups, but they eventually collided in the Super 6 stage, as the match took place at the famous Old Trafford ground, Manchester on June 8.
Amidst the war, there was a huge pressure on both the nations to deliver the goods on the field. The Indian team, marshalled by Mohammad Azharuddin knew that anything less than a victory will create chaos amongst the Indian fans.
Right before the game, India suffered a huge setback when Sourav Ganguly was ruled out of the contest due to an injury. Any other team would have gotten disheartened by the news, but Azharuddin, a terrific leader made sure that India stand toe-to-toe with their fiercest rivals.
How the match panned out?
Having won the toss, India elected to bat first in front of a jam-packed Old Trafford crowd. As expected, Sachin Tendulkar gave India a rollicking start with a brisk 45. He was accompanied by the in-form Rahul Dravid, who scored an 89-ball 61 as runs were tough to come by.
However, the game changer was skipper Azharuddin, who led the team from the front and counter-punched with a brilliant 59 as India made 227 for 6 in their allotted 50 overs.
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In those days, anything above 220 was a tricky chase and India made sure that Pakistan toiled hard for each and every run. Pakistan had a strong batting lineup, led by Saeed Anwar, and skipper Azhar utilised his bowlers to perfection.
It seemed as if Azhar had instilled a winning belief in the team during the innings break, as the bowlers looked charged up and Pakistan were never really in the chase. They lost wickets at regular intervals as the momentum was snatched by the Indian bowlers. Pakistan were bundled out for a mere 180 as India were victorious by 47 runs.
The Karnataka trio of Venkatesh Prasad, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble shared all 10-wickets between them as the trio rattled the Pakistan batting lineup, with Prasad bagging 5/27. After the match, both the captains, Azharuddin and Wasim Akram thanked the crowd for not disrupting the match amidst the political tension between the two nations.
Aftermath
India were able to recapture most of the territories captured by Pakistan. This meant that Pakistan withdrew their forces from LOC and accepted their defeat.
.jpg "ICC Player of the month for July 2023")
 "Anurag Dasgupta")
