The 1996 Sahara Cup final at the Toronto Cricket Club is one of the games that will surely be remembered by fans particularly due to the decades-old tension between their countries, India and Pakistan. Excitingly, this match was the last of a five-match series that attracted much concern because of the animosity and the stakes offered.
The series was kicked off with India winning the first ODI by 8 wickets.
Pakistan on the other hand hit back and one the second game but by a very close margin of 2 wickets.
In the third ODI, India once again chased down a low target and won the match by defeating Pakistan by 55 runs.
In the fourth ODI, Pakistan wiped the floor with the opposition as they recorded a comprehensive 97 run victory making way for a fifth and final ‘decider’ OD.
The innings began towards a moderate direction with good contributions from opening replied Aamer Sohail (44) a second passed, Saeed Anwar (14) a third almost in and Ijaz Ahmed (27).
Saleem Malik scored a good 43 from 47 balls, which propelled Pakistan to a noteworthy total of 213/9.
The Indian team too, however, had its share of intimidation almost entirely courtesy of an ‘in form’ Mushtaq Ahmed a member of the Pakistan bowling attack.
Despite having come under severe pressure, the leg spinner turntable claimed 5 Indian batsmen with a paltry 36 runs Niecht left the batsman rained chaos unto the playing area.
He accounted for the wickets of Ajay Jadeja (20), Rahul Dravid (20), Sunil Joshi (2), Mohammad Azharuddin (2) and Aashish Kapoor (18).
The Indian batsmen made some attempts to build on the innings. However, building partnerships proved too difficult, and eventually, they succumbed to the pressure generated by thePakistan bowlers.
Pakistan won the match convincingly by 52 runs as India managed to score 161 runs before losing all their wickets.
Mushtaq Ahmed was named the Man of the Match after his excellent all-round performance in a match which further ingrained this rivalry in history.
