The last time India and the West Indies played an one-day international (ODI) at the Waca Ground in Perth, Ravi Shastri opened the batting.
Sachin Tendulkar, who was 18, batted at No 4.
On what was then the fastest and most intimidating surface in the world, it was a West Indian – Carl Hooper – that bowled 10 overs of spin.
India, who had made only 126, with Shastri eking out 33 from 110 balls, tied after a finish that still has a special place in the country’s cricket lore.
To put it simply, Mohammad Azharuddin, the captain, had run out of options. Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, Javagal Srinath and Subroto Banerjee had all bowled their quota of overs as India fought tigerishly to defend a minuscule target.
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For the 41st over, Azhar had two options – the left-arm spin of Shastri, who would take five for 15 against Australia at the same venue two days later, or the medium pace allsorts that Tendulkar bowled.
Azhar plumped for youth over experience. Tendulkar swung the ball as dramatically as Imran Khan had in his heyday, albeit at a far gentler pace, but the fifth ball was too near Patrick Patterson’s pads. The flick through midwicket fetched him three and levelled the scores.
Tendulkar went back to his mark, betraying no trace of nerves. The next ball also swung in sharply, but this time it was pitched outside off stump.
Anderson Cummins went for the expansive drive, the ball rocketed off the edge and Azhar made a difficult slip catch look routine.
It was one of the early examples of the serenity that would make Tendulkar a man apart.
More than 23 years on and now retired, he was in Australia, pleading the case of the associate nations and an expanded World Cup. Shastri is India’s team director.
Curtly Ambrose, who took two for nine off 8.4 overs, supervises the West Indies bowlers.
The two teams have gone in very different directions since December 6, 1991.
In six World Cups since, India have won the trophy once (2011), reached a final (2003) and experienced last-four heartbreak (1996).
Save for a semi-final appearance in 1996, the West Indies have been a wan imitation of the team that dominated the tournament’s early years.
The West Indies still lead 60-52 in the head-to-head numbers, but the pertinent one is the 14-6 advantage in India’s favour over the past five years.
As Australia showed while piling up a record total against Afghanistan, the Waca Ground is no longer the nightmare it once was. The cracks of doom that Ambrose exploited during a Test spell of seven for one in 1993 are a distant memory.
For India, who go into the game unbeaten, the biggest challenge might be to ensure the focus stays on the field.
An Indian journalist abused by Virat Kohli at practice on Tuesday, has filed a complaint with the ICC and also with the BCCI.
It was apparently a case of mistaken identity and it has drawn unnecessary negative attention to the man who got India’s World Cup campaign off to a flying start with a superb century against Pakistan.
A bouncy pitch that favours the quicks will aid Ravichandran Ashwin, who took four for 25 against the UAE while making full use of the “Fremantle Doctor” a late afternoon breeze that blows across the ground. Even in a pace shootout, India will fancy their chances.
Umesh Yadav has been one of the quickest on view in the competition, while Mohammed Shami can swing it at speeds in excess of 140kph.
Mohit Sharma, while not quite as rapid, has shown an impressive awareness of his limitations. In their three games, India have bowled out the opposition every time.
Chris Gayle made headlines for his double-hundred against Zimbabwe, but his recent record against the top sides is poor. The last of his four hundreds against India came in May 2006, on home turf in Jamaica.
That it would be a surprise if he bucked that downwards trend should tell you just how far the West Indies’ stock has fallen.
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