Today is 9/11 i.e. 11 September, which the whole world remembers as the biggest symbol of terrorist destruction since 2001. On this day, Al-Qaeda terrorists in US hijacked passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Centre, killing hundreds of people.
But should we remember this day only as a symbol of terrorism? No, definitely not in a country like India, where people cherish cricket not as a game, but as a form of worship. September 11 is also a very historic day in the world of cricket. Especially, Indian cricket is associated with such incidents on this day, which can never be forgotten. Be it Lala Amarnath, who scored the first Test century for the country, or the all-time biggest ODI win against Pakistan.
Four things to remember 9/11 in the world of cricket
1. India’s biggest win over Pakistan
The evening of 11 September 2023 will hardly be forgotten in Indian cricket. On this day, India took on Pakistan in the Asia Cup. The Super-4 match of the was played between the two teams in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. The match was to be played on 10 September, but rain forced the organisers to shift it to September 11.
India defeated Pakistan by 228 runs in this match, which is its biggest margin of victory against Pakistan in ODI cricket to date. The heroes of the victory were Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav. Kohli scored 122 not out in 94 balls, and Rahul scored 111 not out in 106 balls. Both of them had an unbeaten partnership of 235 runs for the third wicket.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma scored 56 runs, and Shubman Gill scored 58 runs and made a partnership of 121 runs in the opening. Kuldeep made the Pakistani team dance with his spin and took 5 wickets for 25 runs and reducing them to just 128 runs. Earlier, India’s biggest victory margin against Pakistan was 140 runs, which came on June 10, 2008, in Mirpur, Bangladesh.
2. Birth of India’s first century player and first series-winning captain
On September 11, 1911, the star of Indian cricket was born, who was never liked by cricket administrators, but for about two and a half decades, Indian cricket could not function without him. We are talking about Lala Amarnath, whose stubborn attitude and habit of not flattering had to suffer the consequences not only for him but also for his sons Mohinder Amarnath and Surinder Amarnath, who later played for the country.
Lala Amarnath was the cricketer to score the first Test century for Team India. In 1933, India played its first Test match on its soil on 15 December in Mumbai. This Test match was against England, in which 22-year-old Lala Amarnath played a strong innings of 118 runs for Team India. This was also the first century of any Indian in a debut Test match. It was under Lala Amarnath’s captaincy that India won its first Test series against Pakistan in 1952-53. In a career spanning nearly 19 years, Lala scored 878 runs in 24 Test matches and took 45 wickets. He was one of the rare bowlers who bowled with the reverse foot, with his right foot forward in the crease.
3. India vs England Test
September 11, 2018, was the last day of the last Test match of the Test series between India and England. This Test match, played at The Oval, can never be forgotten, in which KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant made a record partnership of 204 runs while chasing the target of 464 runs on September 11. But Team India was just a few steps away from victory. This was not the only speciality of this Test match. Actually, this was also the last Test of Alastair Cook, one of England’s best batsmen.
Cook scored a century in this Test as well and joined the few batsmen in the world who scored a century in the first and last Test match of their career. England fast bowler James Anderson took the last wicket of the Test and took the total wicket count to 564. With this, Anderson was forever recorded in the history books as the fast bowler who took the most Test wickets.
4. World’s first international T20 century
When the beginning of T20 cricket was being discussed, it was asked how centuries would be scored in a 20-over match. If centuries are not scored, how will this cricket become popular? The answer to this was found in the very first match of the 2007 T20 World Cup, when ‘Bradman of T20′ Chris Gayle scored a century. West Indies’ Gayle, known as the T20 King, played an innings of 114 runs in just 57 balls against South Africa, and his name was forever recorded in the record books. However, despite Gayle’s century in this match, the West Indies team lost with 2 overs remaining.