1996–97 SAARC Quadrangular
The third and finalSAARC Quadrangularwas held in Dhaka in February 1997. The Pakistan 'A' team, led byAsif Mujtaba,won the trophy after beating India 'A' in a rain affected final. [1]
The teams
[edit]For the first time Pakistan and Sri Lanka took the tournament seriously, and sent strong teams.Asif Mujtaba,the Pak captain, led from the front, and finished as the Player of the Tournament. He was helped in the batting department byBasit AliandAkhtar Sarfraz.The bowling attack was led byMohammad Zahid,arguably the fastest bowler at the time. While he struggled with no balls and wides, he still generated lot of pace from the slow wickets, and was a constant menace to the opposition batsmen. medium pacerAzhar Mahmoodcame good in the final.
The Indian team, (led byAmay Khurasiya,failed to perform up to expectation. In the group match, they were badly beaten by Pak 'A', as the Indian batting collapsed badly. Only the makeshift openerMSK Prasadbatted bravely to carry his bat thorough the innings for 56. The next highest score was by Mr. Extra (48). India, However, can consider them a bit unlucky in the final, as they were still in the game (with in form S. Sarath andMSK Prasadat the wicket) when rain intervened, and calculators were used to determine the champions. Indian medium pacer,Harvinder Singhwas the top bowler of the tournament with 12 wickets. Sri Lanka achieved their first (and only) victory in SAARC Quadrangular history by beating Bangladesh by 5 wickets.Naveed NawazandRuwan Kalpagebatted consistently for the Lankans.
Although the local side (Coached by WI legendGordon Greenidge) lost all their 3 games, there was no disgrace as all the oppositions were much stronger. The batting looked good, the skipperAkram Khan,his deputyAminul Islam,the veteranMinhajul Abedinand the youngsterSanwar Hossainall warmed up well for the upcomingICC trophywith a half century each. The bowling, however, looked completely harmless.Anisur Rahmanwho did so much damage with the reverse swing in 1994-95 failed to make any impact this time.
Scores in brief
[edit]| Date | Match | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Feb. | Bangladesh Vs v Pakistan 'A' | Bangladesh 182/9 ( 43 extras,Hasibul Hossain42*,Kabir Khan3/29) | Pakistan'A' 186/4 (Asif Mujtaba67,Mohammad Wasim42) | Pakistan 'A' wins by 6 wickets | |
| 20 Feb. | India 'A' Vs v Sri Lanka 'A' | - | - | Match abondoend due to bad weather | |
| 22 Feb. | Bangladesh Vs v Sri Lanka 'A' | Bangladesh 220/9 (Sanwar Hossain76,Akram Khan54,Dulip Liyanage4/42) | Sri Lanka'A' 222/5(Naveed Nawaz88) | Sri Lanka 'A' wins by 5 wickets | |
| 23 Feb. | India 'A' Vs v Pakistan 'A' | Pakistan 'A' 232/9 (Basit Ali67,Mohammad Hussain51,Harvinder Singh6/43) | India 'A' 164 (MSK Prasad56*,Mohammad Zahid3/36) | Pakistan 'A' wins by 68 runs | |
| 25 Feb. | Pakistan 'A' Vs v Sri Lanka 'A' | Sri Lanka 'A' 130Ruwan Kalpage54,Aaqib Javed4/17) | Pakistan'A' 132/9 (Akhtar Sarfraz64*, Ranjith 3/27) | Pakistan 'A' wins by 1 wicket | |
| 26 Feb. | Bangladesh Vs v India 'A' | Bangladesh 235/7 (Aminul Islam78,Minhajul Abedin53,harvinder Singh4/44) | India 'A' 236/3 (S. Sarath 64*,Gagan Khoda63) | India 'A' wins by 7 wickets | |
| 28 February | Pakistan 'A' Vs India 'A' (Final) | Pakistan 'A' 199 (Asif Mujtaba91,Noel David3/32 | India 'A' 124/5 (31 overs), (S. Sarath 35*,Azhar Mahmood3/30) | Pakistan 'A' wins by 38 runs(Parabola Method) |
The final
[edit]Despite the fact that the local side had been eliminated, a strong holiday crowd gathered to watch the final between the two traditional rivals of the region. They saw plenty of good cricket, but unfortunately late afternoon rain spoiled an exciting finish. The Pak side won the toss and decided to bat first. The Indian new ball bowlersDebashish Mohantyand Arindam Sarkar struck early blows to leave the opposition struggling at 29/2. The Pak captain started the recovery sharing 41 for the 3rd wicket withAkhtar Sarfraz(31). The Pak captain went on to score 91, but he got little support from the middle order. OnlyMujahid Jamshedwith 26 stood firm. Pakistan lost their last 6 wickets for only 62 runs as off spinnerNoel Davidand the most successful bowler of the tournamentHarvinder Singhdestroyed the lower order. The Paks batted for only 43.2 overs.
In reply, the India 'A' got off to a solid start, as their opening pair ofWasim JafferandGagan Khodadefied the new ball attack ofAaqib JavedandMohammad Zahid.The openers, However, failed to convert starts into scores. The skipper,Amay Khurasiya,batting at No. 3, made 27, but the introduction ofAzhar Mahmoodinto the bowling changed the course of the game. From 69/1, India 'A' slumped to 112/5. The run out ofSairaj Bahutuledidn't help their. Still they fancied their chances with S. Sarath at the wicket. But the weather had the last say, and according to the Parabola method, Pakistan'A' were declared the winners.Asif Mujtabawas adjudged the player of the Final.
Top batsmen of the tournament (80 or more runs)
[edit]| Name | Matches | Runs | Average | Highest Score | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S. Sarath (Ind) | 3 | 99 | 99.00 | 64* | 1 |
| Ruwan Kalpage(SL) | 2 | 85 | 85.00 | 54 | 1 |
| Naveed Nawaz(SL) | 2 | 94 | 47.00 | 88 | 1 |
| Basit Ali(Pak) | 3 | 90 | 45.00 | 67 | 1 |
| Asif Mujtaba(Pak) | 4 | 179 | 44.75 | 91 | 2 |
| Sanwar Hossain(Ban) | 2 | 89 | 44.50 | 76 | 1 |
| Akhtar Sarfraz(Pak) | 4 | 133 | 44.33 | 64* | 1 |
| Aminul Islam(Ban) | 2 | 83 | 41.50 | 78 | 1 |
| Akram Khan(Ban) | 3 | 87 | 29.00 | 54 | 1 |
Note:The Bangladesh middle order batsmanMinhajul Abedinplayed in only one game, and scored 53, thus finishing with an average of 53.00
Top bowlers of the tournament (5 or more wickets)
[edit]| Name | Matches | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvinder Singh(Ind) | 3 | 131 | 12 | 10.91 | 6/43 |
| Dulip Liyanage(SL) | 2 | 64 | 5 | 12.80 | 4/42 |
| Aaqib Javed(Pak) | 4 | 91 | 6 | 15.16 | 4/17 |
| Mohammad Zahid(Pak) | 3 | 107 | 6 | 17.83 | 3/36 |
| Azhar Mahmood(Pak) | 4 | 96 | 5 | 19.20 | 3/30 |
| Mohammad Hussain(Pak) | 4 | 97 | 5 | 19.40 | 2/11 |
Top all-rounder of the tournament
[edit]| Batting | Bowling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Matches | Runs | Average | Highest Score | 50 | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best |
| Mohammad Hussain(Pak) | 4 | 76 | 25.33 | 51 | 1 | 97 | 5 | 19.40 | 2/11 |
Notes
[edit]1) The Sri Lanka 'A' team achieved their first and only victory in SAARC Quadrangular history by beating Bangladesh by 5 wickets.
2) The Pak team was unusually generous in giving extra runs. In total, they gave away 120 extras (71 wides, 28 No balls, 28 leg byes and 2 Byes). This a record for the SAARC Quadrangular.
3)Asif Mujtaba's 91 is the 2nd highest score in SAARC Quadrangular history, afterNavjot Singh Sidhu's unbeaten 95 against Pak 'A' in1992.
4)Harvinder Singh's 6/43 against Pakistan 'A' is the best bowling in the tournament's history, improving Tanvir Mehedi's 5/23 against Bangladesh in1992.
5) In the game against Pak 'A', the Bangladesh last wicket pair ofHasibul HossainandAnisur Rahmanput on unbeaten 51 runs, a tournament record for the 10 wicket partnership.
References
[edit]- ^The Home of CricketArchiveCricketArchive SAARC Quadrangular 1996-97 (Retrieved 2009-09-19)Archived24 July 2008 at theWayback Machine