1997 Pepsi Independence Cup

The 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup was a quadrangular ODI cricket tournament held in May, 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of India.[1] It featured the national cricket teams of New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the hosts India. The tournament was won by Sri Lanka, which defeated Pakistan in the best-of-three finals.

Indian independence celebrations

The tournament was organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and sponsored by PepsiCo as part of the many national celebrations being held in 1997 for the 50th anniversary of India's independence from colonial rule.[1] The Independence Cup trophy featured a gold inscripted image of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and his followers on the Dandi March during the 1930–31 Salt Satyagraha. The tournament concept was later emulated in Sri Lanka, which held an Independence Cup tournament to mark its 50th anniversary of independence in 1998, and in Bangladesh in 1998. The BCCI also used the tournament to celebrate 50 years of Indian cricket. Along with a television documentary on the history of Indian cricket broadcast on Doordarshan, India's Test cricket captains were honoured during the 2nd final at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta (now Kolkata) – from the then 86-year-old Lala Amarnath to the then-captain, 24-year-old Sachin Tendulkar.[2] All the captains took a lap around the Eden Gardens in a jeep, receiving a standing ovation from the 75,000-strong assembled crowd.[2] Each man received a silver salver, while Vijay Hazare received the C. K. Nayadu Trophy.[2] The captains honoured included Polly Umrigar, Datta Gaekwad, Pankaj Roy, Gulabrai Ramchand, Nari Contractor, Chandu Borde, Ajit Wadekar, Bishen Singh Bedi, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Mohammad Azharuddin.[2]

Squads

India

The Indian team coach cum manager was Madan Lal. Notably missing from the squad was former captain and lead batsman Mohammad Azharuddin, who was dropped.[1][3] Lead pace bowler Javagal Srinath was ruled out of the first half of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.[3]

New Zealand

Pakistan

Pakistan's line-up were missing regular pace bowlers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and spin bowler Mushtaq Ahmed, who were playing county cricket in England.[3]

Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan team had minor changes from the team that won the 1996 World Cup under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga.

Matches

Using the round robin format, each team played the others once. New Zealand defeated Pakistan in the tournament opener, but proceeded to lose its other matches. Similarly, India succeeded in its opening match against New Zealand, but suffered defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. After its loss to New Zealand, Pakistan's victories against Sri Lanka and India enabled it to qualify for the finals. Sri Lanka lost a high-scoring match to Pakistan, but defeated New Zealand and India to reach the finals.

Team P W L T NR NRR Points
 Sri Lanka 3 2 1 0 0 +0.478 4
 Pakistan 3 2 1 0 0 −0.287 4
 India 3 1 2 0 0 −0.331 2
 New Zealand 3 1 2 0 0 −0.452 2

[4]

9 May
Scorecard
New Zealand 
285–7 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
263–9 (50 overs)
Nathan Astle 117 (132)
Saqlain Mushtaq 3/38 (10 overs)
Shahid Afridi 59 (46)
Nathan Astle 4/43 (8 overs)
New Zealand wins by 22 runs
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh
Umpires: K.T. Francis (Sri Lanka) and S. Venkataraghavan (India)
Player of the match: Nathan Astle (New Zealand)
  • Pakistan won the toss and chose to field
12 May
Scorecard
Pakistan 
289–6 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
259 (49.5 overs)
Shahid Afridi 52 (29)
Sajeewa de Silva 3/59 (10 overs)
Arjuna Ranatunga 58 (60)
Aaqib Javed 5/35 (10 overs)
Pakistan wins by 30 runs
Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior
Umpires: Steve Dunne (New Zealand) and S. Venkataraghavan (India)
Player of the match: Aaqib Javed (Pakistan)
  • Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat
14 May
Scorecard
New Zealand 
220–9 (50 overs)
v
 India
221–2 (42.3 overs)
Nathan Astle 92 (111)
Robin Singh 2/27 (7 overs)
Sachin Tendulkar 117 (137)
Nathan Astle 1/25 (7 overs)
India wins by 8 wickets
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Umpires: Javed Akhtar (Pakistan) and David Orchard (South Africa)
Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar (India)
  • New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat
17 May
Scorecard
India 
225–7 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
229–5 (40.5 overs)
Ajay Jadeja 72 (102)
Sajeewa de Silva 3/59 (10 overs)
Sanath Jayasuriya 151* (120)
Abey Kuruvilla 2/22 (7 overs)
Sri Lanka wins by 5 wickets
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Umpires: Steve Dunne (New Zealand) and Dave Orchard (South Africa)
Player of the match: Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
  • India won the toss and chose to bat
20 May
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
214 (48.3 overs)
v
 New Zealand
162 (44.5 overs)
Romesh Kaluwitharana 44 (36)
Gavin Larsen 3/43 (9.3 overs)
Matt Horne 41* (73)
Sanath Jayasuriya 2/21 (7 overs)
Sri Lanka wins by 52 runs
Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad
Umpires: S. K. Bansal (India) and Javed Akhtar (Pakistan)
Player of the match: Romesh Kaluwitharana (Sri Lanka)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat
21 May
Scorecard
Pakistan 
321–7 (50 overs)
v
 India
292 (49.2 overs)
Saeed Anwar 194 (146)
Sachin Tendulkar 2/61 (9 overs)
Rahul Dravid 107 (116)
Aaqib Javed 5/61 (10 overs)
Pakistan wins by 35 runs
M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Umpires: K.T. Francis (Sri Lanka) and Dave Orchard (South Africa)
Player of the match: Saeed Anwar (Pakistan)
  • Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat

Finals

Pakistan and Sri Lanka squared-off in a best-of-three final series. The first final was in Chandigarh, and the second final (and if necessary, the third) was held at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta (now Kolkata). However, Sri Lanka defeated in both the first and second finals, winning the tournament without the need for a third final to be played.

24 May
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
339–4 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
224 (43.5 overs)
Sanath Jayasuriya 96 (67)
Mohammad Hussain 2/56 (10 overs)
Moin Khan 57 (61)
Sajeewa de Silva 3/40 (7 overs)
Sri Lanka wins by 115 runs
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh
Umpires: Steve Dunne (New Zealand) and S. Venkataraghavan (India)
Player of the match: Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat
24 May
Scorecard
Sri Lanka 
309 (49.4 overs)
v
 Pakistan
224 (43.1 overs)
Arjuna Ranatunga 59 (77)
Saqlain Mushtaq 4/53 (9.4 overs)
Rameez Raja 76 (101)
Muttiah Muralitharan 3/40 (10 overs)
Sri Lanka wins by 85 runs
Eden Gardens, Calcutta
Umpires: Steve Dunne (New Zealand) and Dave Orchard (South Africa)
Player of the match: Aravinda de Silva (Sri Lanka)
  • Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat

Records and awards

The player of the tournament award was bagged by Sri Lankan all-arounder Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored the most runs in the tournament, 306, with one century and two fifties, and took 5 wickets to add. Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq took the most wickets in the tournament, bagging 14.[5] Pakistani batsman Saeed Anwar's innings of 194 against India in Chennai became the record for the highest runs in a single innings by any batsman in international cricket.[1] The record stood until 2010, when India's Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman in history to score a 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Pepsi Independence Cup, 1996–97". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Indian captains honoured". The Indian Express. 1997-05-28. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  3. 1 2 3 "Azharuddin dropped from team for Independence Cup". The Indian Express. 1997-05-07. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  4. Result Summary – Points Table
  5. "Cricket Records – Most Wickets". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
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