Random Cricket Photos Post 104



#RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy

THE CORNERED TIGER T-SHIRT

This, for me, is easily the most iconic Cricket World Cup picture. Exactly 27 years ago, this is how Imran Khan walked out for the toss for the 1992 World Cup Final. Just look at the confidence on his face.

This wasn't the first time he was wearing the t-shirt though. It made its first appearance when Pakistan played Australia in the group stage, a do-or-die encounter for Imran's men. Before this match, they had lost to West Indies, South Africa and arch-rivals India. They were skittled out for 74 against England before rain saved them. An early exit looked imminent for Imran, who had been called out of retirement by Zia-ul-Haq on live Television after he had hung up his boots post 1987 World Cup.

At the toss, surprised at what he saw Ian Chappell, now handling commentary duties, asked him "You’re known as the Lion of Lahore. What’s this? (Pointing at the tiger emblazoned on the t-shirt) Imran replied in his baritone: That’s what I have been telling Allan. I want my team to play like a cornered tiger. You know that’s when it is most dangerous." Later in the day, Pakistan would win the first of their five consecutive matches, a streak that would culminate with Khan and his team lifting of the Cup in front of 87,000 people at the MCG.

Interestingly, though, a member of his team, Zahid Fazal, says that Imran often wore this T-shirt in the finals that Pakistan played at Sharjah. He also claims that there was no 'Cornered Tigers' speech before the Australia match, something Imran claims spurred on his team to win the Cup.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quiz on India-Australia Tests

Image
1 .     When Australia toured India in 1969, Calcutta went up in arms protesting a player’s inclusion in the Australian squad who they wrongly believed had served in the Vietnam War and killed Viet Cong members. Which cricketer? 2.     In the 2000’s, Jagmohan Dalmiya was seeking the role of the BCCI’s patron in chief and to install Ranbir Mahendra as President. On the other hand, Sharad Pawar had forged a cricket alliance with IS Bindra and was looking forward to become the BCCI supremo.  It was in this background that Pawar’s loyalists declined a certain request by someone considered close to Dalmiya for a match that he eventually didn’t play but would go on to change his career. Which match and what was the request? 3.   Greg Mathews picked up 10 wickets in the 1986 Madras Test to ensure a tie. What crazy thing did he during India’s second innings as a psychological ploy, that Ricky Ponting also did during his 1999 Barbados century? 4...
Read more

Random Cricket Photos Post 128

Image
# RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy Seems like a fairly harmless photograph, right? Well, some English fans did get 'harmed' as a result of this moment in the photograph. This is a photograph from the West Indies vs England Test at Lord's in 1966. It shows a cricketer who has just completed his ton in the second innings being lifted by an over enthusiastic fan who has found his way to the middle, as fans so often used to back in the day. The batsman was none other than the gr eat Sir Gary Sobers whose 274 run partnership with his cousin David Holford had rescued West Indies from a precarious 96-5 in the match. In England's second innings and the fourth innings of the match, several English fan inspired by the West Indies fan decided to fete their hero of the innings the same way. The only problem this time around was that the man who scored a century for England - Colin Milburn - weighed 112 kilograms. So, once he completed his ton, out came several ...
Read more

The story of the only time I played cricket in 2020

 As much as I love cricket, I have to admit I suck at playing it. I always have. This bit of information is important for the story that I am about to tell. A story of a friend. A story of a friendship. This short story began a long time ago in my life. I was probably twelve years old when I began playing cricket with the kids from my colony. After years of dominating my drawing room cricket where the opposition primarily consisted of the wall and the furniture, I found the going more than just tough initially despite finding a group of kids who were extremely supportive and never nasty. However, when you are young, being shy and introverted with terrible skills means that you’re often ‘hidden’ in a team sport i.e you are batting lower down the order and are the last bowler whose services the captain will ask for. You neither are good enough to participate more actively nor are you vocal enough to ask the more established players to give you a go. For much of my growing up years, t...
Read more