One - Day Cricket : The Indian Challenge

0.0

"One-Day Cricket: The Indian Challenge" encapsulates the splendidly diverse world of the limited overs game from an Indian perspective. This timely volume traces the origins of the shorter version of the sport and records every Indian appearance, as well as each semi-final and final, of all World Cup and Champions Trophy competitions. One of the most glorious episodes of India's cricketing history - victory in the 1983 World Cup final - finds pride of place. It also recaptures the fascinating spectacle of the 1985 Benson & Hedges 'World Championship' in Australia, besides tournaments at Sharjah and the 2002 NatWest Series in England. Some all-time great one-day internationals (ODIs) are also highlighted, including Bangladesh beating Australia at Cardiff in 2005 and 872 runs being scored in a day in an Australia-South Africa match at Johannesburg in 2006. India's intense rivalry with Pakistan, both on and off the field, has been focussed on. The author concludes with a preview of the 2007 World Cup due to be held in the West Indies, and also examines Saurav Ganguly's controversial exclusion from the Indian side. An entire chapter has been devoted to what the writer calls 'the turning point' for India in ODIs - a win against the then mighty West Indies at Albion in Guyana in March 1983. The book portrays the bumpy shift in the balance of financial power in world cricket from Anglo - Saxon control to Indian dominance. More stirringly, it pays tribute to heroes past, while praising the individual brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. This mostly first-hand, anecdotal sweep of over 44 years of one-day cricket, blended with sharp analysis, is eminently readable, yet thought provoking. It's also an invaluable statistical guide, with scorecards embellishing match descriptions. This insightful work has been penned by the only Asian who broadcast ball-by-ball on BBC on India's meteoric march in the 1983 World Cup.