When Anwar made history with local bat
SANTHOSH KUMAR CHENNAI, DEC. 28
It has been 15 years since India and Pakistan battled it out in an ODI at Chennai’s Chidambaram Stadium, but it is difficult not to see the upcoming first one dayer between the archrivals through the lens of that classic contest in the summer of 1997.
A mere mention of the Pepsi Independence Cup is enough to rekindle the memory of Saeed Anwar’s pulsating knock of 194 –- a score that remained untouched for 12 years before being equalized by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194*) and then surpassed by Sachin Tendulkar (200*) and Virender Sehwag (219).
No surprise, the knowledgeable Chepauk crowd gave a standing ovation to the flamboyant Pakistan opener for his historic feat under energy-sapping conditions after Saurav Ganguly’s diving effort, in the backward short leg off Sachin, saw Anwar limping back to the pavilion with runner Shahid Afridi for company. Not just Anwar, his bat that punished the likes of Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad and Abey Kuruvilla, made headlines the next morning. The English willow was tucked into Anwar’s kitbag only minutes before the match began at 2.30pm after skipper Rameez Raja bought the bat at a sports goods shop near the stadium.
At the end of the match, The Pavilion owner Chandra Kumar Chopda was in for a surprise when Anwar acknowledged the use of the equipment in a letter and also placed an order for 10 more bats.
“It was around noon, just hours before the match, when Rameez walked into the shop with three other players — Azhar Mahmood, Afridi and Mohammad Wasim,” recalled Chopda pointing to a picture in an album.
“The large gathering of public outside the shop had to be dispersed by the police using mild lathi charge as Pakistan players had Z+ security then,” he said. Pavilion has always been a landmark on Wallajah Road and it attracted many sports personalities including Gary Sobers and Richard Hadlee. But it was news of Anwar’s bat that made it famous.
“The RNS bat, worth ₹4,000, was one of the many items the Pakistan players bought that day. We had no clue Rameez was buying it for Anwar. We came to know of it only after the match when Anwar placed more orders with us. He had removed the RNS sticker to replace it with that of his sponsor, Wills,” said Chopda.
