Chennai and Pakistan
January 31 1999 was a day that Wasim Akram would never forget. A day when Sachin batted through an aching back and yet ended up on the losing side. It was the fourth day and India begun the day with 8 wickets in hand and 231 runs to get. The hosts had to put up with the swing of Wasim and Waqar and the doosras of Saqlain Mushtaq. It was not a great start for India as Dravid, Azhar and Saurav fell before India went into triple figures. Although Ganguly was unlucky where the ball had actually bounced before he was caught. Reeling at 82 for 5 India looked like going home soon. But their only hope did not abandon them. Sachin stood there and batted it out. Nayan Mongia gave good support before he hit one in the air easily taken by Waqar. It was now totally upto Sachin to take India through. With just seventeen runs to get and only three wickets in hand Sachin decided to hit Saqlain out of the ground but ended up giving a catch to Wasim at long off. Four runs later the entire team was out. The reason why Wasim will remember that day, for that matter all cricket fans, was after Pakistan had beaten India in India, that too so close a game, no other crowd had given a Pakistan team a standing ovation after what it had done. That was when people started to realise it was just a game after all. Wasim decided to appreciate the standing ovation by going on a victory lap and the crowd stood there and applauded for the entire victory lap. Though Sachin was named player of the match he did not come out to get the cheque. He did not want it as India had lost the match. I always believe that India Pakistan matches got more friendly after this match.
The next time when India toured Pakistan, a few of the Indian team players decided to pay a university there a visit. Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Lakshmipathy Balaji were the players and guess who was the audience's pet? It was Balaji. not for his bowling but for his broad smile that swung the Pakistani hearts. In case you didnt know Balaji is from Chennai. Balaji was the crowd's favourite throughout that series to everyone's surprise.
A few days back, there was a shocking news. Wasim Akram's wife died in the Apollo hospital in Chennai. She had not been taken good care of in Pakistan and so the quick bowler decided to take her to Singapore but ended up in Chennai. The doctors tried their best, in Wasim Akram's words, but they had failed. It was one battle that Wasim would have wanted to win but not much could be done. The doctors didn't take a penny. It was a few years back in this same hospital where a Pakistani girl had been admitted and successfully operated and that time too the doctors didnt take a fee. Chennai and Pakistan are closer than we think.
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