4. India vs South Africa, Nagpur, 2011
India went batting first and was scoring runs with humiliating ease against the famed South African attack. Steyn was taken to the cleaners, both by Sehwag and Sachin in a opening stand of 142, when Sehwag perished to the part-time bowling of Du Plessis. Another Delhi Boy joined Sachin Gambhir, and kept the runs flowing. The two had a 100 plus partnership when Sachin fell for 111. The score was 267. It was the 40th over. With eight wickets in hands, 10 overs to go, surely a score in excess of 340 didn’t seem far-fetched, by no means. With the likes of Dhoni, Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan to come, maybe even more.
What happened you ask? 296 all out! They couldn’t even reach 300. 29 runs, 9 wickets is the number that matters. India not just allowed South Africa back a sneak back in the game, they made a door, opened it, allowed the South African team to enter it and make it their home! Although it did go down to the wire, India would have lucky if they had won this match even after such a disastrous display in the final overs. It turned out well in the end; India lost the match, learned their lesson and walked home with the World Cup.
