India’s heartbreaking loss by 22 runs against England at Lord’s on July 14 will be talked about for a long time. Ben Stokes deservedly received the Player of the Match award, but for Indians Ravindra Jadeja’s heroic but vain effort to inspire the tail to stick with him till the team crossed the finish line will remain an indelible memory.
The nature of the game, particularly its ending, has triggered comparisons with India’s narrow loss by 12 runs to Pakistan at Chennai on January 31, 1999. If there was a Jadeja in 2025, it was Sachin Tendulkar’s remarkable 136 in a lost cause in Chennai that was the focal point. Tendulkar was battling not just the Pakistani attack, but also back spasms.
I was in the stadium that day. Very likely anyone at the venue that day still has vivid memories of a riveting day’s cricket which ended with the crowd giving the Pakistani team a standing ovation.
There are some similarities between Lord’s 2025 and Chennai 1999. That’s all. An attempt to draw a deeper link is superficial. Chennai 1999 was by far a better cricket match both in terms of quality of the game and drama.
Let’s start with possibly the most important differences. Pakistan’s bowling attack was led by Wasim Akram, with Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq being other key members. Their quality was superior to the current English attack which is workmanlike. Moreover, the fifth day pitch in Chennai was a trickier surface than the one at Lord’s. That’s what made Tendulkar’s effort truly special.
In Chennai, it was by late afternoon on the fourth day, that fluctuating fortunes had fans on the edge of their seats. Pakistan was cruising at 275 for 5 in its second innings. The prospect of India having to bat out the last day in tough conditions to salvage a draw was the most likely prognosis. At that point, the game suddenly pivoted with Pakistan collapsing for 286 in a few overs as Venkatesh Prasad experienced the defining moment of his career with 6 for 33.
India began the fateful final day with its best pair, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, at the crease and 231 runs away from a victory.
Akram, as talismanic in Chennai as Stokes was at Lord’s, set the tone early by knocking back Dravid’s off stump. That over is part of YouTube’s collection and is worth watching to get an idea of the quality on display that day.
The next stage is where there’s an overlap with Lord’s as Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin departed early. At 82 for 5, the target seemed a long way off. More so as Saqlain was having the match of his life. Here was an off-spinner, at the peak of his powers, weaving a spell on a fifth day wicket in very South Asian conditions.
Words cannot capture the standard of cricket over the next couple of hours. Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia retrieved the situation in extremely tough conditions to take India to 218. Victory was in sight and some of the fans began to dance in aisles to the mesmerising beat of bongos, real or improvised.
At that moment, Akram struck again and Mongia was walking back after scoring 52. Indian fans never, in those days, lost hope when Tendulkar was at the crease. With Sunil Joshi and Anil Kumble to follow surely the game was still within India’s grasp.
What followed was arguably even more heartbreaking than Lord’s. With less than 20 runs to get and Tendulkar still batting, there couldn’t have been too many who expected Pakistan to win. Of course, there was Saleem Malik fielding at the boundary and bantering with the crowd who indicated that Indian fans, and not him, would be soon crying.
The last 30 minutes of the game belonged to Saqlain. A first-rate spinner, he repaid India’s fourth afternoon comeback in the same coin. With the score at 254, Tendulkar fell to Saqlain. The next three wickets fell for an additional four runs leaving some in tears.
Tendulkar’s heroics were in vain. It brought back memories of another excruciatingly close match against Pakistan in Bangalore in March 1987 when India lost by 16 runs and Sunil Gavaskar’s 96, in his last test innings, was a masterclass in batting on a minefield of a pitch. Another lost cause with fans clinging on to the memory of an unforgettable effort by a player who remains the touchstone of the grammar of batting.
Of the three efforts in lost causes, Gavaskar perhaps played the best innings. For sheer drama, Chennai 1999 remains unsurpassed. If one had the privilege of being there, even 26 years later the memories are bound to be vivid.
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