India vs Pakistan at the '03 World Cup - pre and post game news reports

[Predator_05]

A bit of nostalgia [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymG4YflIvc]YouTube - 2003 India vs Pakistan News Report[/ame]

[ludhianvi]

Vividly remember that day. The buildup to the match was very intense and exciting. Was it Waqar who mentioned that it was 'war' prior to the match? From the top of my head, I think Pakistan had put them a decent total of something like 270 and Saeed Anwar scoring big. It seemed that India could lose at the innings break. However, what took everyone by surprise was the Tendulkar storm. That six off Shoaib Akhtar, who can forget that. Legendary stuff that match! Here's a vid of Sachin during that worldcup [noparse]

[/noparse]

[Predator_05]

I was looking forward to this for weeks. 1st March 2003...even when the World Cup began, i had that date in the back of my mind. Remember reading a bunch of match reports in the lead-up to the game. Ganguly on the BBC urging viewers back home to be calm and talking about how it was just a game, etc. Shoaib Akhtar talking himself up big time - claiming that he was going to bowl "REALLY PHAAASHT" against the Indians and how his best figures were against teams like Australia, etc. I also remember reading an interview of Aamir Sohail (i think it was him) who said that if India were in Pakistan's position (ie; lose the match and face elimination), their - i quote this directly - "legs would be shaking". I missed a lot of the paki innings since the matches began early in the morning here. Got back home early and caught the whole Indian chase on TV. I couldn't believe how fast India scored in those first 5 overs, they were at 10 an over. Shoaib's first over went for 18 runs. I'd say those first 5 set the tone for the rest of the innings. Even after Waqar's double strike, i had faith and Kaif played an absolute gem of an innings. His 35 is usually forgotten when people talk about this game, but it was his partnership with Tendulkar that set the match up for India and put them into a really strong position. I still remember how he easily handled the hat trick ball and then hit Waqar's attempted yorkers for 4. For a while, i feared the worst when Tendulkar was cramping, because i remembered Chennai '99 - when he would lie down after taking a single because his back was giving up on him. But he made sure he scored enough to win India the match, which goes out to show the character of the man. Shoaib's snorter of a delivery to dismiss him was a blatant chuck, BTW. Yuvraj's 50 was remarkably good - one of the best he has ever played. Tendulkar even mentioned him in the post-matc ceremony when he got the man of the match award.

[ludhianvi]

Even after Waqar's double strike,

That was a double bluff by Waqar, wasn't it? The field was set for a bouncer maybe and then Waqar bowled a brilliant straighter delivery to get rid off Ganguly. The Pakistani team was really pumped after that double blow by Waqar. Btw, perhaps you can move this to the cricket talk section? :eyedance:

[Holysmoke]

Who can forget toffee kumar mouthing off :hysterical:

[vadodaravictor]

Who can forget toffee kumar mouthing off :hysterical:

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::haha::haha:

[THX_1138]

Who can forget toffee kumar mouthing off :hysterical:

actually i have... was not so much into cricket back then! refresh my memory!

[MalikBrother]

Never knew the streets in both Pakistan and India were empty due to this 'promoted, an intense, and sort of like a war match'. Brilliant ! Pakistan always lose to India on WC. Nevertheless, i would want Pakistan - India on next WC. So, i could witness the reality in Pakistan :D

[Holysmoke]

actually i have... was not so much into cricket back then! refresh my memory!

[ame=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9135779971261085955&hl=en]Indian Cricket_Sachin Tendulkar smashing Pakis[/ame] forward to 36 mins 25 seconds

[MundaPakistani]

I love the passion with which this game was played!

[Predator_05]

I think this is the biggest game ever played between India and Pakistan. In terms of viewership, it definitely is the biggest. People who hadn't watched a single cricket match in their lives up until then probably caught a glimpse of this game. That's how closely it was followed.