Sports, in general is heavily reliant on moments of brilliance, in those dying hours of the game, a sudden spurt in adrenaline, a flying cap, a diving stop, a god-like free kick, a moment of rush and unpredictability. It is what drives you and me to watch the game. Yes, there are consistent teams and consistent players who perform majestically day in and day out, but as a viewer you are always looking for that one moment which you will recall years from today and say- “I was there! I saw it live!” Mostly these moments of excellence are intrinsic in nature, that is, a player searches deep in his vault, and finds one more ounce of spirit, one more final push, and one last effort and just gives it his all. From these we have moments like Wasim Akram’s two wickets in 1992 final, Peter Siddle’s last over at MCG in 2011 and many more come to our minds. And then there are moments which make you hold your chin in your palms and wonder-“Did they just do that?” And it brings us to another set of wonders, or as we say misfortunes that also happen in sports more often than you and I can imagine! Gatting’s infamous reverse sweep, Zidane’s head-butt are some of these misfortunes.
CricMatez here takes a look at another set of misfortunes, “Top 10 worst batting collapses of India”
10. India vs South Africa, Durban, 2006
It was the second game of the ODI series between India and South Africa. Zaheer khan had taken care of his bunny, Graeme Smith in his first over. South Africa fought back, led by Kallis who stitched small but significant partnerships with almost everyone. Kallis scored 119, South Africa 248. India expectedly started poorly, Wasim Jaffer back in the first over. With Sachin first and then Rahul afterwards, India sort of got the things closer to the track if not exactly on it. A drinks break came, and Sachin and Dravid gone in the space of three balls- the flood gates were opened. From 39 for 1 at one stage, India went to 62 for 3, 82 for 5 and 91 all out. Credit where it is due- Andre Nel and others were just too good for India that day!
