Sahara Cup 1997 : Toronto Diaries (Part II)

MATCH 2 | September 14, 1997

Inzamam-ul-Haq being restrained after he lost his cool and had an altercation in the stands

The match could have been known for Pakistan's abject collapse, but instead is in folklore for Inzamam-ul-Haq losing his cool and getting involved in a major scuffle.

A Toronto-based Indian Shiv Kumar Thind, wielding a megaphone was constantly taunting Inzamam for his weight. He kept calling him 'aloo' (potato) and fielding at the boundary this irked him particularly. He slyly called for a bat to be brought to him by the Pakistani 12th man (substitute Mohammad Hussain) after having made up his mind that enough was enough. As soon as he got the chance, Inzi rushed through the boundary gate and charged threateningly towards the Indian fan, mouthing a few censured words in fury.

The crowd in the bleachers was taken aback and what ensued was a fracas that led to the play being suspended for close to 40 minutes. On ground security had a tough time restraining the chubby Pakistani batsman who had clearly snapped. Watch below :

Finally as the tempers cooled down, the match was resumed, which India coasted comfortably to win. The match referee Jackie Hendriks of Jamaica handed Inzamam a two-match suspension for his conduct that he deemed unbecoming of an international cricketer and for bringing the game into disrepute. Shiv Kumar Thind, meanwhile adamantly pressed charges against Inzamam and only dropped them after being requested by Sachin Tendulkar.

Promoted to open, Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim has by his sticks knocked over by Azhar Mahmood

The crowd, both Pakistani and Indian was particularly belligerent that day. Thind was not the only troll in the crowd. Ijaz Ahmed was also ribbed by the crowd. A lesser known anecdote is that Mohammed Azharuddin was also being chided for losing his captaincy and with comments on his relationship with actor-model Sangeeta Bijlani. Azhar chose to ignore the taunts. It was easier for him because he was fielding inside the 30-yard circle as opposed to Inzi; however the muffled noise of the megaphone was audible across the smallish venue.

Pakistan 116 all out | Saleem Malik 36, Debashish Mohanty 3/15

India 119/3 | Sourav Ganguly 32, Saqlain Mushtaq 1/24

India won by 7 wickets | Player of the Match : Sourav Ganguly