On this day in 1999, @anilkumble1074 took 10 wickets against Pakistan.
21 years ago, my father (who doesn't usually watch cricket) was glued to the TV set from start to finish, his every cheer getting louder as wickets kept falling.
There were only two other times in my memory that he was so ensnared by cricket matches.
One of them was the legendary India versus Pakistan ODI quarter final in the 1996 World Cup. He cursed in exultation and taught me a new word when Venkatesh Prasad got Aamir Sohail's wicket
The other was when Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath successfully chased an Australian total of 215 after India was down 164 for 8.
The running between wickets and their banter added to the thrilling finish of the game.
Back to @anilkumble1074 and his ten wicket haul. Here are some fascinating stories related to that historical winter's day in Delhi.
This test match should've been played on another pitch. The wonderful Shiv Sainiks decided protest by digging the pitch up and the match to be played on the backup pitch.
There was some nice numbering sequence in the first innings of the game. Our four bowlers - Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad , @harbhajan_singh and Kumble took 1,2,3 and 4 wickets each.
The ball with which Anil Kumble took the 10th wicket (@wasimakramlive) was thought to be lost when the Indian team and the crowd went batshit insane with joy.
Turns out, Venkatesh Prasad had the ball and agreed to give it to Kumble in exchange for dosa at their favorite eatery.
Did you know of other Indians who also took ten wickets in an innings?
- Pradeep Sundaram 10/78 for Rajasthan v/s Vidarbha
- Subhash Gupte 10/78 for India v/s Pakistan Services
- Premangsu Chatterjee 10/20 Bengal v/s Assam
- Debashish Mohanty 10/46 East Zone v/s South Zone
Richard Stokes, an English businessman decided to watch the game live in Kotla.
Remarkably he also watched Jim Laker get his 10 for 53 runs against Australia live. What a privilege to be there on both occasions!
Some Indian newspapers had the headline that said - "Pakistan destroyed by AK-74".
While admittedly creative, it was not the nicest way to phrase it. After all cricket is supposed to be a game played by people with class and should also be reported accordingly.
Kumble overshadowed poor Saqlain Mushtaq.
Mushtaq had bowled exceptionally and taken 10 wickets in that match. In fact in the 4 innings in which he bowled in that two match test series, he took four 5 wicket hauls.
There are rumours that Shiv Sena was going to disrupt the game by releasing snakes on the playing field.
To counter this threat, security agencies had snake charmers on stand-by in case of possible mayhem.
For those interested in numbers, here are the two scorecards of the games where @anilkumble1074 and Jim Laker took their 10 wicket hauls respectively.
The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India in 1993 has sparked a governance revolution in India, resulting in over 10,00,000 women representatives (sarpanch, councillor) in local govt today.
This unprecedented change has no parallel anywhere in the world!
A thread 🧵
73rd amendment of Constitution of India empowered local governments and introduced women’s reservation in local governments.
The women’s quota has been in place since 1993! But a few states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had such measures before the constitutional amendment.
Droupadi Murmuji, a trailblazing politician from Odisha, secured her first major electoral victory in the 1997 Panchayat elections from Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat.
She won from a seat reserved for women (specifically ST women).
In 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in the midst of balancing the needs of a 19 party coalition. Jayalalitha decided to withdraw support and a vote of confidence was taken.
This man decided to vote and NDA lost the no-confidence motion by 1 vote.
A 🧵
A little background - the NDA or the National Democratic alliance was formed not in 1998... But back in 1983.
Vajpayee heading a fledgling Bharatiya Janata Party teamed up with Charan Singh of the Lok Dal to form the NDA to fight Indira Gandhi.
It was an uneasy alliance and after the death of Indira Gandhi in October 1984, the Congress swept to power riding on a wave of sympathy. The NDA dissolved.
On December 13, 2001, a white Ambassador with a 'lal batti' and permission stickers passed through the gates of the Indian Parliament.
One person found that suspicious: Kamlesh Kumari. We should be thankful to her for that.
A thread 🧵 (1/6)
The car, instead of slowing down or maintaining speed, suddenly accelerated.
Equipped with only a constable's baton and a walkie-talkie, Kamlesh Kumari began following the car. She soon spotted five men, all heavily armed, heading towards the building. (2/6)
As soon as Kamlesh Kumari noticed the suspicious activity, she raised an alarm—shouting and using her walkie-talkie.
This prompt action gave the CRPF personnel a few crucial seconds to prepare and tackle the terrorists. (3/6)
If you know your Hindi films, the above is the number of Star fisheries... Or is it Star Garage?
A thread on the madcap Hindi film 'Hera Pheri'.
Hera Pheri is a remake of a Malayalam film ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’, which itself is inspired by “See the Man Run” a 1971 film that revolved around a wrong number, ransom call and a struggling actor.
The origin of this film is interesting. AG Nadiadwala had signed up Priyadarshan to direct a film called ‘Raftaar’ which had Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt along with Paresh Rawal. It was supposed to be an action film.
The muhurat was given by Bal Thackrey and Steven Seagal.