After the events off the field dominated the first-ever international match in Srinagar, India once again stepped onto the valley turf, this time against the high-flying Aussies on 9 September 1986.
The hosts came into the game on the back of a win in the first ODI and looked to take a 2-0 lead in a 6-match series and record their first-ever triumph in the valley.
Given the troubles in the previous game against West Indies, the entry to the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium was restricted by the match security.
After being put to bat first, India got off to a steady start thanks to Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth. The duo put up a 50-run partnership before Greg Mathews dismissed Srikkanth on 24. Raman Lamba soon followed Srikkanth back to the dressing room as Australia got the grip of the game.
After completing his half-century, Gavaskar suffered a heartbreaking moment as he was run out following a mixup with Dilip Vengsarkar. Ravi Shastri and Chandrakant Pandit steadied the ship for India and took the hosts to a respectable total of 222/8 in 47 overs. The match was reduced to 47 overs per side for the slow over rate.
In reply, Australia lost star batsman David Boon in the very first over as the fast bowlers led the charge for India. Geoff Marsh and Dean Jones’ watchful innings of 17 and 12 respectively took the pressure back on the hosts as they were in desperate need of early wickets knowing that the pitch would get better for batting as the innings went on.
Stuart Binny’s introduction to the bowling attack proved to be monumental for India as he got rid of both Marsh and Jones in quick succession.
But this was when captain Allan Border stepped onto the pitch. He took the charge back to the Indian bowlers hitting some gorgeous shots. As the wickets kept tumbling from the other end, Border seemed to be batting on a different turf as was unphased by the quality bowling of the Indian bowlers. He scored an unbeaten 90 to take the game away from India and give his side a win by three wickets.
With this win, Australia tied the 6-match ODI series 1-1. However, India did go on to win the series 3-2, with the 3rd match in Hyderabad called off due to bad weather.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
