On this day in 1996: Ajay Jadeja, Venkatesh prasad star as India beat Pakistan in World Cup quarter-final

On 9 March, 1996, India knocked out arch-rivals Pakistan from the World Cup. The high-stakes game was held in the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. Hours before the start of the game, Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram withdrew due an injury, much to the shock of his fans. India won the toss in the quarter-final and captain Mohammad Azharuddin elected to bat first. As the opening pair of Navjot Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar walked on to the pitch, expectations were sky-high. And they started off well, putting on 90 for the opening wicket. The Master Blaster got dismissed for 31 runs but Sidhu carried on, remained steady at the other end and scored 93 off 115 balls. After Sidhu’s dismissal by Ata-ur-Rehman, wickets fell in quick succession, with Azharuddin, Nayan Mongia and Vinod Kambli failing to score big. However, after Azharuddin’s wicket left India stumbling at 236/6 as Kambli and Mongia departed. Ajay Jadeja then stepped in to ensure that the team could reach a decent total. With a power-packed 45 off 25, the right-arm batter’s knock included two sixes and four boundaries, before he was dismissed by Waqar Younis. Jadeja’s blitzkrieg propelled India to 287/7 in 50 overs. India scored 57 runs in the final four overs, including 22 in one over off Waqar Younis. Pakistani openers Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail gave their team an electric start as they took the attack to the Indian bowlers. The openers added 84 for the first wicket before pacer Javagal Srinath finally provided the breakthrough. Anwar miscued one to mid on, off Srinath at 48, but skipper Sohail continued to wreak havoc. The high-stakes game also saw tempers flare between Sohail and bowler Ventakesh Prasad. The duo got into a heated exchange after the batter hit a slew of boundaries off the right-arm medium fast bowler. However, it was Prasad who had the last laugh as he knocked back Sohail’s off stump to spark wild celebrations. Prasad later scalped the wickets of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Ijaz Ahmed to help turn the game in India’s favour. Saleem Malik and Javed Miandad’s 52-run partnership did help stabilise their team, but Kumble and Raju made sure that Pakistan didn’t get too far away as they ripped through the middle and lower middle order to help India win the game. Pakistan could only reach 248/9 in 50 overs, and lost the game by 39 runs. It was Miandad’s last match as he retired from ODIs after this game. Sidhu was declared the Player of the Match for his 93 off 115 balls. India reached the semi-final of the tournament where they were knocked out by Sri Lanka. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.