February 17, 1999. India. Pakistan. Test Cricket. Eden Gardens, Kolkata. 100,000 fans on the ground and millions following it on their TV sets, radios around the world. What more can a cricket fan ask for!
It’s the second day of the India-Pakistan Test and what could be a better occasion for a young fast-bowler to announce his arrival. Shoaib Akhtar, the tall, flamboyant, and really quick youngster, had made his Test debut two year earlier.
He had seen his team dismissed for just 185 and then India reaching 147-2, looking untroubled by anything that he, Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq had thrown at Rahul Dravid and Sadagopan Ramesh.
But then Akhtar decided to shake the whole of India from their comfort zone. And he took just two ball to do that. The ball was 50 overs old and that’s exactly the kind of cherry that Pakistan bowlers love to bowl with.
Over number 51. Akhtar steams in to Dravid who has faced 92-balls in nearly two hours to get to his 24. The ball is fast and looks like it’s going to be a full-toss but then it suddenly dips in and by the time Dravid could bring his bat down he could hear the sound of leather crashing into the wooden stumps. Leg-stump is uprooted.
The crowd has gone from loud to silent. In a few seconds though, they are shouting and dancing again. Sachin Tendulkar was in next. All this had no effect on Akhtar and he told ARY News years later, “I heard Sachin was the god. I said this is a God? Iss ki khairiyat nahi. He didn’t recognize me, and I didn’t recognize him. He was in his own attitude and I was in my attitude. But I wanted to get him out on the first ball and that happened.”
It happened and how! Ball number 50.2. Akhtar steaming it again. It’s a fast and low full-toss and by the time anyone could blink an eye and Tendulkar could bring his bat down, the ball had crashed into the middle stump. Silence again. Akhtar is on his knees, head looking towards the sky and arms outstretched.
India collapsed at 223. Pakistan scored 316 in their second innings, thanks to a 188 from Saeed Anwar. India fell 46 runs short of the target of 279 set by Pakistan.
With these two ball on the afternoon of second day’s play, Akhtar had immortalized himself.
