Birthday Special: 5 Greatest Waqar Younis Spells Against India
As Younis celebrates his 46th birthday, here’s a look at 5 of his greatest moments against India.
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One of the world’s greatest-ever fast bowlers, Waqar Younis, turned 46 on 16 November. The speedster, who picked up 373 wickets in Tests and 416 wickets in ODIs, led Pakistan to many memorable victories.
Younis, known for his brilliance in both Tests and ODIs, recorded a bowling average of 23.56 in Tests and 23.84 in ODIs.
On Younis’ birthday, here’s a look at five of his greatest feats for Pakistan against India.
1. 5/31 in Coca-Cola Cup
(March 2000)
After Pakistan posted a daunting total of 272/3 in their 50 overs, Waqar Younis made life miserable for the Indian team in Sharjah.
He dismissed the captain Sourav Ganguly in the fourth over, reducing India to 12/1. Thereafter, with support from Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, Younis picked up wickets at regular intervals. He single-handedly ran through the middle order, dismissing Sunil Joshi, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja.
Eventually, he ended up with figures of 5/31 and Pakistan won the match by 98 runs.
2. 4/80 in 1st Test (November 1989)
On his Test debut, Waqar Younis proved that he was meant to play international cricket. He picked up his first Test wicket while sharing the new ball with Wasim Akram, and went on to take the wickets of Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, and Sachin Tendulkar (who also made his Test debut in this match).
He ended up with figures of 4/80 at the end of India’s first innings. The match was eventually drawn.
3. 4/42 in Austral-Asia Cup (April 1990)
In the third match of the Austral-Asia Cup, Pakistan put up a below-par total of 235/9 in their 50 overs. But Younis, a first change bowler in the match, ensured that Pakistan went off the field as winners.
He dismissed Navjot Sidhu on the first ball of the batsman’s innings before bowling out Kapil Dev, before picking up the wickets of Ravi Shastri and Ravi Shastri.
Pakistan won the match by 26 runs.
4. 3/21 in 2nd ODI (December 1989)
After the match was reduced to 16 overs per side, Pakistan put up a decent total of 87/9. It was Younis who got the first breakthrough for Pakistan, dismissing the captain Kris Srikkanth for 17 runs.
He picked up the wickets of debutant Sachin Tendulkar and Ravi Shastri in quick succession, reducing India to 51/5. Pakistan eventually won the match by 7 runs.
5. 3/44 in 4th Match (April 1996)
During a match when most of the Pakistan bowlers were having a poor day, Waqar Younis was the only one who picked up wickets and bowled at an economical rate. After Younis sent Vikram Rathour back to the pavilion early in the innings, Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Sidhu strung a partnership of 231 runs.
It was Younis who came back and broke the partnership later in the innings. Tendulkar was out for 118 runs. Younis got Ajay Jadeja’s wicket as well, but by then India had enough momentum to post 305/5 in 50 overs.
India won the match by 28 runs.
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