The Kensington Oval drama and Brian Lara's innings - Part 1 - Opinion
Not many of us have witnessed Donald Bradman’s monumental 270 runs against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 at Melbourne in 1937. That innings was rated by Wisden as the best Test match innings of all time. Those who were lucky enough might have gone through archives or searched
for it on YouTube. Yet one innings that lingers in one’s mind and is hard to forget was a shrewd assault by a man who was truly special. It was an innings of pure defiance, class, assurance and enthusiasm that helped the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 gain one of the most incredible
victories of all time.
Such was the impact of this innings that Wisden had to consider it as the second best test match innings behind Bradman’s feat. 153 not out may not be appealing in consumerist times, but the significance of the innings rolled onto the fact that the mission
to rescue one’s team from the clutches of defeat was successful.
The venue was the picturesque Kensington Oval in Bridgetown Barbados, with a bouncy track that suited the Australians as much as the West Indians. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Devi-Chand-Worrel-c53918
Trophy of 1999. It was a must win game for the hosts who had succumbed to outlandish pressure and trailed Australia by two games to 1 in the three Test matches played prior to this.
After winning the toss on a bouncy wicket, Aussie skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377, as Australia cruised to a commanding score of 490 in the
first innings, leaving the West Indies dismayed. Lara’s men were not only ragged but lost the voracious appetite for taking wickets. The pressure was immense for a man who already had to bear the brunt of castigation over his side’s five nil drubbing against
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
The West Indies reply was subdued as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sherwin-Legay-Campbell-c90005, who played with precision and calm, provided any sort of resistance whatsoever.
The signs became ominous for the West Indies initially, yet with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ridley-Detamore-Jacobs-c85417, the West Indies at least gave themselves a chance by posting 329 on the board. With spearhead
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Glenn-Donald-McGrath-c60183 picking up four wickets by extracting plenty of bounce, the likes of Ambrose and Walsh believed that something was in the reckoning for them.
Condtinued in Part 2...
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