Legendary Pakistani batter Javed Miandad broke several hearts when the former Pakistan captain struck a last-ball six off India’s Chetan Sharma in the Austral-Asia Cup final at Sharjah. The year was 1986 when India met arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash of the Austral-Asia Cup. According to legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev, the stunning defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the Austral-Asia Cup crushed the side’s confidence for the next four years.
Taking a trip down memory lane, Kapil recalled Miandad’s batting heroics against India ahead of the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup 2022. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are scheduled to face each other in their Asia Cup opener on Sunday. Recalling the famous 1986 encounter between the traditional rivals, Kapil revealed that the team decided that the final delivery of the match will be a low yorker.
“When the last over came, we went to Chetan. To this day, I still feel it wasn’t his mistake. They needed 4 runs on the last ball and we decided that it would be a low yorker. There was no other alternative. He tried his best, we all tried. It turned out to be a low full-toss. Miandad kept his backfoot intact and connected it. Even when we remember that today, we can’t sleep. That defeat crushed the whole side’s confidence for the next four years. It was very difficult to make a comeback from there,” Kapil said during a conversation with Wasim Akram on Star Sports.
On Sunday, arch-rivals India and Pakistan will renew their rivalry at the Asia Cup. The record-time champions will meet Pakistan in their campaign opener at the Dubai International Stadium. The traditional rivals last played each other at the T20 World Cup 2021. Pakistan had defeated India to register its first-ever win over the Asian giants in a World Cup match at the time.
