India vs Australia : Five greatest ODIs of all time

1. Sharjah, April 1998 (Desert Storm – Sachin’s birthday special)

‘Desert Storm’ served to emphasize to the rest of the cricketing world the wonder that is Sachin Tendulkar. His back-to-back centuries against Australia in the 1997-98 Coca Cola trophy were enough proof of that. The second three-figure knock came in the final, and completed one of India’s more famous victories over the Kangaroos.

The bowlers finally delivered a performance worth every cheer that rent the night as they tied down the Aussies with clinical precision. After Gilchrist’s initial blitzkrieg, India kept things on a tight leash, and identical knocks from Steve Waugh and Darren Lehmann, with a late cameo by Michael Bevan, enabled them to reach a somewhat respectable total.

But Tendulkar, celebrating his 25^th birthday, proceeded to play an innings that was as sublime as ever. None of the bowlers had an answer to his extremely aggressive approach; it was characterised by a pre-meditated plan to target the wily Shane Warne. Sachin used his feet beautifully against the blond leg-spinner, hitting boundaries off him at will.

His innings was highlighted by wonderful shots played with a straight bat; the six he hit off Michael Kasprowicz stands out vividly in everyone’s minds.

Ably supported by skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin took the total to within striking distance of a win before Kasprowicz trapped him LBW; however, the damage had been done, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar finished the proceedings with the winning boundary. Terrific stuff!