November 5, 2009 – Sachin Tendulkar's one man show

November 5th witnessed a couple of the thrilling matches and some of the most exciting batting performances in ODI cricket which go down in the history as one of the bests.

2009 – Sachin Tendulkar’s 175:

India took the field at Hyderabad with a desire to bring an end to their 0-2 record at the venue and take a 3-2 lead in the 7-match series. But Australia posted a huge total of 350/4 in their 50 overs after electing to bat on a batting paradise. Shaun Marsh scored a run-a-ball 112 while Shane Watson struck 93 at the top.

Chasing the mammoth target, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag gave India a blistering start scoring at part with the required rate. After Sehwag’s wicket, senior batsmen Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni all returned to the pavilion with single digit scores leaving Sachin alone. Suresh Raina, who walked in at No.7 gave the master blaster great support as Team India raced towards the target. The batting maestro played some of the most outrageous shots during the innings showing glimpses of his earlier days where he used to be a lone warrior.

Raina fell after a 59-ball 59 while the Indian team still needed 51 from 45 balls. Watson, who broke the partnership also sent back Harbhajan Singh in the same over as the Indian team was in trouble yet again. However, Sachin took his side close to the target along with Ravindra Jadeja and went for scoop over fine-leg when they needed 19 runs from last three overs. His sensational innings came to an end on 175 off 141 balls which included 19 fours and four maximums.

Jadeja was runout in the same over but Praveen Kumar tried to take India over the line before he was run out as the last man standing while trying for the 2nd run when India needed five from three balls. Watson was the man who turned the game in Australia’s favour by taking three wickets with the ball following his brilliant effort with the bat. Sachin Tendulkar’s 175 is the highest individual score coming in an unsuccessful ODI chase.

Watch the knock here:

1987 – India vs England, CWC Semi-final:

Defending champions of the World Cup, India took on England in the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium with the winner of the game taking on Australia in the final at Kolkata. Indian captain Kapil Dev invited England to bat first after which the England opener Graham Gooch took out India’s spin threat. He swept Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri to score 115 off 136 balls while Mike Gatting and Alan Lamb chipped in with 56 and 32 respectively to raise the total to 254/6.

Team India kept themselves in the chase by scoring runs at the required rate but in the same process, they did lose a few wickets. Six of India’s top seven batsmen scored over 20 with Mohammad Azharuddin only one to score a fifty as he scored a 74-ball 64. When India needed 51 runs with five wickets in hand, Eddie Hemmings trapped Azharuddin in front of the stumps as the home side lost their last five wickets for 15 runs to get bowled out for 219 in the 46th over.

1993 – Sharjah Champions Trophy Final:

Pakistan and West Indies made it to the finals of the Tri-series that involved Sri Lanka, who lost all the four league games. Windies elected to bowl first and put Pakistan in a spot of bother by reducing them to 87/3. On the back of a huge stand of 172 runs between Basit Ali and Saleem Malik for the 4th wicket, Pakistan ended up with 284/4. Basit struck an unbeaten 79-ball 127 with 12 fours and five sixes bringing up his hundred in 67 balls. He scored the last 77 runs of his innings in only 37 deliveries.

Brian Lara almost chased down the target on his own as the Windies opener struck a 143-ball 153 with 21 boundaries. He shared partnerships with PV Simmons, Keith Arthurton and Richie Richardson before falling when his team needed 12 runs to win. Windies comfortably won the game by a 6-wicket margin as they chased down the target with 27 balls to spare.