Courtesy: ICC/BCCI
On March 1, 2003, India hammered Pakistan by six wickets in the high-voltage ODI World Cup 2003 match played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, which was their first international meeting between these two nations in cricket in nearly three years at the time. Sachin Tendulkar played a ferocious knock of 98 off 75, and became the recipient of the player of the match (POTM) award.
Batting first after winning the toss, Pakistan got a decent start from their openers Saeed Anwar and Taufeeq Umar as both stitched a 58-run partnership for the first wicket in 11 overs. Zaheer delivered the first breakthrough to India in the form of Taufeeq, who scored 22 off 32. However, Anwar posed a tough challenge for the Men in Blue as he showcased his batting mettle and notched up his 20th ODI ton. Anwar’s innings concluded in the 41st over as pacer Ashish Nehra cleaned him up. The southpaw returned to the dugout after scoring 101 off 126. In the final over of the innings, Rashid Latif (unbeaten 29 off 25) and Wasim Akram (unbeaten 10 off six) displayed belligerence and helped Pakistan post a fine total of 273/7 in their 50 overs.
Chasing the target, India got an explosive start from their openers Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar. Taking on Pakistan’s formidable pace trio of Wasim, Waqar and Shoaib Akhtar confidently, both batted aggressively and took India to their first fifty in just 4.5 overs.
Pakistan hit back but Sachin Tendulkar’s onslaught neutralised their confidence
Following India’s attack in the early stages of their batting innings, Pakistan made a comeback in the game as Waqar picked up Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly on consecutive deliveries in the sixth over of the innings. However, Sachin didn’t relent as he continued his onslaught and went on to score his half-century in just 37 deliveries. Along with Mohammad Kaif, Tendulkar built a 102-run stand in just 95 balls for the third wicket.
Tendulkar couldn’t complete his century as Shoaib’s short delivery bamboozled him in the 28th over of the innings, when he was literally batting on one leg due to an anikle issue. Following the Master Blaster’s dismissal, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh took India ahead comfortably and sealed the victory with 26 balls to spare. Yuvraj scored an unbeaten 50 off 53, while Dravid also hit an unbeaten 44 off 76.
