Like millions of Indian cricket fans, I too am a spirited lover of the sport. There is little doubt that cricket binds people in India.The illustrious Chepauk occupies a special place among some of the game’s most prestigious venues globally, not only for the most knowledgeable crowd, but the venue itself has been witness to some historic moments of the game. I was lucky to be a part of those momentous scenes that I savour even today. Two Test matches played at Chepauk were a delight. One, the tied Test between India and Australia in September 1986, and the other being India vs. Pakistan in January 1999, which Pakistan won. But the match is remembered for Sachin Tendulkar; he scored 136, battling back spasms.
First, the tied Test. On the last day of the match when I was on my way to office, news filtered through the city that the Test had suddenly been resurrected after Allan Border had declared with the overnight score of 170 for 5, setting India a fighting target of 348. In a flash, bunking office I dashed off to the stadium. Indian wickets started falling regularly even as runs were being scored.
When Shivlal Yadav was the ninth wicket in the penultimate over at 344, it was a sheer bedlam. Ravi Shastri was holding one end up commendably and it was now a straight duel between him and the untiring Matthews, bowling with sleeves buttoned to his wrist and with his baggy green cap on. Matthews started the last over with India needing four runs and Australia wanting one wicket. Shastri scored three runs to level the scores, giving Maninder the task of getting the winning run. But Matthews had the final say. He picked up Maninder’s wicket in the fifth ball to tie the match!
Similarly, the India-Pakistan Test was an evenly fought match. The penultimate day saw India being bundled out for 258 while chasing 271 runs. The home side, much to the dejection of the crowd, lost the game by just 12 runs. But what followed next perhaps remains one of the best scenes to have emerged out of sports in India. The Chennai crowd gave a standing ovation to the Pakistan side. The crowd applauded the fact that Pakistan on that day was the better of the two sides. And the visiting side returned the honour with a victory lap.Sadly, these days international matches at the Chepauk ground have become a rarity as a few stands of the M A Chidambaram stadium locked in a court battle. And it pains to see the ground wearing a desolate look most of the time much to the dismay of fans like me.