One of the fiercest rivalries ever to exist in the sport of cricket or even sports in general is that between India and Pakistan. Historical context and cultural similarities between the 2 nations make this rivalry one of the most entertaining and more often than not the matches played between them go down the wire. Now what if I told you that at one time in history, an India – Pakistan match was played while an actual war was going on between the two nations? Now that’s something which never happens in history. This was the the1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan which was played while the Kargil War was being fought between the 2 nations.
Also read: What Made The 1999 World Cup Aus Vs SA Semi-Final The Greatest ODI Ever Played
Kargil War 1999
The Kargil War started in May 1999 when the Indian military learned that Pakistani troops disguised as Kashmiri militants infiltrated the Indian side of LOC. After detecting this infiltration, India ordered its army and air force to push back the intruders, who included regulars of the Pakistani army.
1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan
On the other side of the world in England, the 1999 World Cup was in full swing. India and Pakistan were in different groups and hence didn’t play each other at the group stage of the tournament. They both reached the Super Six stage and were set to lock heads against each other in Manchester on 8th June 1999. While Pakistan was comfortably positioned in the Super Six stage, it was a must-win game for India to keep their world cup hopes alive.
1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan – The Atmosphere And The Fans
Cricket fans of both the nations were charged up especially the ones at Old Trafford who were watching the game live in the stadium. They queued up outside Old Trafford well before the match and dressed in the national colors of blue and green. Flags fluttered, as did banners; and musical instruments of all nature blared through the day.
The atmosphere was absolutely crazy like that at the Wagah border, with emotions of vengeance flowing through the blood of the fans from both nations. There was a fear that this can blow up into something disastrous, and thus security was very tight and intense. In the end, there were just three arrests, nine ejections, and one Indian flag burned during some scuffling which was minor instances when compared to the situation.
1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan – India Bats Decently
The captain of the Indian team Azhar won the toss and elected to bat. The team had a big setback before the match when an in-form Sourav Ganguly, due to injury, was ruled out of the match. India’s best batsman Sachin Tendulkar was not at his mental and physical best, he was suffering from a back injury and had lost his father a few weeks before. Yet he was able to give India a good start by scoring a 45. Sachin reached his milestone of 8000 ODI runs and 1000+ runs in the Cricket World Cup during his innings.
After that, Rahul Dravid and Azhar stitched a good partnership with both of them scoring fifties. Dravid was India’s top scorer playing a crucial knock of 61 runs, which was very important in the context of the game.
Indians have a good flourish in the end with Azhar and Robin Singh playing aggressively and putting up a score of 227/6 at the end of 50 overs.
1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan – Pakistan Lose Their Way In The Chase
It was a decent score but it meant that India needed some good bowling performances to defend the score, and that’s what exactly happened.
Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar gave Pakistan a superb start by hitting 6 fours, but he did not get any support from the other end. He scored 36 off 44 deliveries. After Saeed Anwar, the only Pakistani batsman who managed to keep the scoreboard ticking were Moin Khan who scored 34 off 37 balls, and Inzamam-Ul-Haq who scored 41 at a slow pace. Pakistan’s last hopes for a victory came crashing when Inzamam-Ul-Haw was dismissed with the scoreboard reading 175-8.
Venkatesh Prasad performed brilliantly with the ball and took a 5-wicket haul and picked up both Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq. The Karnataka trio of Srinath-Kumble-Prasad had taken all the 10 Pakistan wickets amongst themselves and gave India the sweet sweet victory in the World Cup.
1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan – India win by 47 runs
India win the match by 47 runs as Pakistan were all out for 180 in 45.3 overs. It would be India’s third undefeated win against Pakistan in the World Cup.
Meanwhile, At Home
Back at home, after major battles between Indian and Pakistani forces, India was able to recapture most of the territories held by Pakistani forces. This resulted in the withdrawal of Pakistani forces back across the LOC after international pressure. Just like the 1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan match Pakistan, after getting a good start lose their way in the middle and are defeated in the end. The victory is India’s and the war finally ends on 26 July 1999.
Aftermath
After the 1999 World Cup: India Vs Pakistan match, both Azhar and Wasim Akram thanked the audience present in the stadium for not disrupting the match despite the political situation between both countries. This instance shows that there lies a human spirit behind sports, despite huge political tensions and political rifts between the 2 countries both teams were able to compete and put up a good show. India lost its next match to New Zealand and was knocked out of the Super Six stage of the World Cup even before the encounter with the Kiwis while Pakistan advanced to the finals of the tournament, eventually losing the trophy to Steve Waugh’s Australian side.
With that, we come to the end of this story about the 1999 India vs Pakistan World Cup match which was played while the Kargil War was going on. Hope you enjoyed reading this article and we will bring more interesting articles like this in the future.