On This Day: Javed Miandad mocked Kiran More to give cricket a viral moment for the ages
Teams: IND vs PAK
When: March 4, 1992
Where: 16th match, Benson & Hedges World Cup at Sydney.
It was for the first time in the history of cricket that archrivals India and Pakistan were facing each other in a World Cup and tensions were expectedly high. Batting first, India posted 216/7 thanks to Ajay Jadeja’s 46, Azhar’s 32, Sachin’s 54 and Kapil Dev’s 35. Legends like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram had gone wicketless.
In reply, Pakistan seemed to lose the plot with Inzamam ul Haq and Zahid Fazal being dismissed with just 17 runs on the board. Javed Miandad was the fourth man in and tried his best to stitch a crucial partnership with opener Aamer Sohail.
But the Indian bowlers were economical and the pressure was building. At the halfway stage, Pakistan were at 85/2. Then the young Sachin Tendulkar who was bowling sent one down the leg side. Miandad tried to play at it but it went through to Kiran More behind the stumps.
More appealed long and loud, but the umpire waved it away. Miandad wasn’t pleased with the intense appeal and exchanged some words with the Indian wicketkeeper either. The Pakistan batsman complained to umpire David Shephard, but More didn’t back down. In the same over, More removed the bails in an attempted run-out despite Miandad being well inside the crease.
But this time Miandad went first. Clutching his bat in both hands, he jumped up and down while shouting animatedly. More, on the other hand, remained calm. It may not have been the best advertisement for the gentleman’s game but remains an iconic moment from the many India-Pakistan matches that followed.
