“WORLD CUP UPHEAVALS”
Every Indian marketer worth his dollar is gearing up to be a part of what is being touted as the biggest cricketing season of all time. In a month from now, an estimated Rs 1,500 crore of combined advertising funds will be pumped into the ICC World Cup starting February 19 and then into the Indian Premier League-4 (IPL) beginning April 8. Industry experts say this 90-day chock-a-block cricket calendar will, debatably, be the largest media extravaganza ever in terms of both viewership and revenue. What is interesting is that despite the overdose of cricket and the high cost associated with it; most advertisers are not deterred from shelling out the big bucks. In fact, they admit that cricket remains the best impact property in a fragmented media environment. Lets turn back the pages and look at the previous editions of crickets biggest event.
The 1983 World Cup: The Unexpected Upturn in International cricket
India's win in the 1983 World Cup remains the biggest upset ever in international cricket, but beyond all the glory that it brought India, the single achievement of that victory was that it made one-day cricket matter to Indians. In the earlier World Cups, India had merely turned up to make the numbers, winning only one match, against East Africa, and losing to Sri Lanka, not yet a Test nation. If effigies were not burned on the streets back home after Sunil Gavaskar's 60-over 36 not out against England in 1975, it was because no one cared. From then on cricket became a teenager’s dream in India.
1992 cricket World Cup : The Cup of “firsts”
The Cricket World Cup in 1992 (aka Benson & Hedges Cup) was the fifth edition of the tournament. It was held from February 22 to March 25, 1992 in Australia and New Zealand.
The 1991-92 cricket seasons were a first in many aspects:
• Day/night matches were introduced.• White balls and coloured team uniforms for one-dayers introduced.• Third umpires (off-field, apart from the two on-field umpires) to decide run-outs based on TV replays were introduced.• A controversial system of recalculating team totals for a reduced number of overs for matches affected by rain was introduced.• It was the first World Cup to feature African test nations:• South Africa returned from a 22 year old ban on cricketing relations with it.• Zimbabwe also gained test status.• Many new techniques were invented• Pinch-hitters (Batsmen sent in the early stages (higher order) to step up the run-rate by hitting the ball all around).• New Zealand opening with spin-bowlers to confuse the batsmen higher order who are used fast bowlers trying to extract much speed with the new ball.
1996 Wills World Cup:
India vs Pakistan at its best
March 9, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore: India and Pakistan met each other in a pulsating quarterfinal encounter. In the knock-out stage the stakes were high and so were the passion of the fans. Wasim Akram's pull-out just minutes before the match was greeted harshly as fans across Pakistan smelt a conspiracy in the move. The captain's effigies were burnt in the streets of Karachi and Lahore.
India won the toss and in front of a packed Chinnaswamy started to build a mountain of runs for Pakistan. India ended with massive 287 runs. The big score largely achieved thanks to some belligerent hitting from Ajay Jadeja, who took Waqar Younis apart in the final overs of the match. Jadeja smashed 45 in 25 balls, which included a 22-run feast off one Younis over. India racked 57 runs in the last four.
Chasing the huge target Pakistani openers Saeed Anwar and stand-in-captain Aamir Sohail launched a solid reply. It seemed as if 287 runs would be overhauled in no time. After smacking Venkatesh Prasad for a boundary, Sohail pointed the bat toward the direction of the four to rub in the assault. Prasad though made sure that his reply would be more than just words. And it came in just the next ball. Sohail tried to hit another Prasad-delivery to the fence but only managed to clean bowl himself. The crowd roared as a charged Prasad dished out the four-letter word to Sohail. The opener's wicket was the turning point as the Pakistan line-up crumbled under the pressure of a high run chase.
1999 world cup: Australia beats the odds to win with glory, India fights for glory once again after Kargil
1. Australia pipes into the semi finals after defeating South Africa in the final over of the super sixes. They then proceeded to the final with a tied match in the semi-final (also against South Africa) where a mix-up between South African batsmen Lance Klusener and Allan Donald saw Donald drop his bat and stranded mid-pitch to be run out. In the final, Australia dismissed Pakistan for 132 and then reached the target in less than 20 overs, with eight wickets in hand.
2. June 8, Manchester: The stiffest test of an India-Pakistan cricket rivalry came against the background of the Kargil battle. Both the nations were in the throes of a war. It was almost given that the battle in the high grounds would find a face in the World Cup encounter between the two sides. The atmosphere was charged up and there were massive security arrangements to ward off any untoward incidents. Tendulkar's 45, Azhar's 59 and Dravid's 61 helped India set a target of 228 runs in front of Pakistan. Pakistan's reply was littered with wickets at regular intervals, five of which were bagged by Venkatesh Prasad. India registered perhaps their most satisfying win over Pakistan in cricket. Unlike the first two India-Pak World Cup encounters, the Manchester game did not see much friction between the players of the two teams. The match though was not without some blemish. Wisden Almanack reports 'three arrests, nine ejections, and one Indian flag burned during some scuffling at the close.'
2003 World Cup: Tendulkar”ed”
India's victory over Pakistan was the cornerstone of the side's remarkable run to the final of the competition. And at the centre of the win was India's biggest cricket star: Sachin Tendulkar. Saeed Anwar's 101 runs guided Pakistan to an imposing total of 273 runs. With the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar in the bowling ranks the challenge of overhauling the target was always going to be tough. India needed Tendulkar to fire and he did so with a mix of ferocity and grace.
The Indian batting legend went after the bowling right from the first over. And it was then that the most memorable shot of an Indo-Pak cricket match was invented. Tendulkar heaved a wide delivery from Akhtar over the third man region for a six and made his intentions crystal clear. He continued to take the game away from Pakistan churning out an array of breathtaking shots and playing as if he could do no wrong. The only discomfort Sachin got was through his own body which suffered under a bout of cramps.
Finally, a snorter from Akhtar saw Sachin going back to the pavilion on 98. Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh then combined to take India to their fourth consecutive win over Pakistan in a World Cup game.
