ICC Cricket World Cup: Top 5 controversial moments in India-Pak encounters
New Delhi: Whenever India play Pakistan in a cricket match, there's bound to be some drama as players are high on adrenaline, not willing to let their foot down to outplay the opposition.
Whether it comes to skills or verbal exchanges, players of both the teams leave no stone unturned to emerge victorious. With all the hype and buzz around what is touted to be the "mother of all clashes", players often indulge in verbal exchanges and altercations which, despite looking ugly, make the game even more exciting.
And when the Men in Blue take on Pakistan in their fourth World Cup fixture in Manchester on Sunday, one can be rest assured that apart from cricket, fans would be treated be some raw emotions and heated verbal exchanges at Old Trafford.
India have an awesome record against Pakistan when it comes to World Cup, leading the 1992 champions 6-0 in all editions of the showpiece event.
IANS takes a look at the top five controversial moments which took place in the past during the high-octane India-Pakistan clashes:
Javed Miandad mimicking Kiran More in 1992
During the 1992 World Cup match at Sydney in Australia, Pakistan's Javed Miandad was getting agitated by India wicketkeeper Kiran More's excessive appealing.
The two exchanged words and Miandad even complained to the umpire. In the very next delivery, the Pakistan batsman ran a double and even though he had made his ground, More took the bails off and appealed for a run-out.
More's over-enthusiastic appeal for a leg-side catch of Miandad during the match brought out one of the most hilarious reactions from the Pakistan batsman. A frustrated Miandad jumped up and down to mimic More, leaving everyone in splits.
Venkatesh Prasad's perfect reply to Amir Sohail in 1996
In the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Pakistan were in a formidable position during their chase of 287, with Amir Sohail keeping the scorers busy.
After he brought up his fifty with a lovely cover drive off the bowling of Venkatesh Prasad, some words were exchanged between the duo. Sohail pointed at the cover boundary, suggesting that he would be hitting Prasad's next ball there.
However, it was the Indian medium pacer who had the last laugh as he clean bowled Sohail the very next ball.
Prasad, who was generally quite calm and composed, didn't hold back and gave a send-off to Sohail.
Verbal exchange between Gambhir, Afridi in 2007
During the third ODI of Pakistan's tour of India in 2007, India opener Gautam Gambhir got involved in a nasty verbal altercation with Shahid Afridi at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur.
After Gambhir hit Afridi for a boundary, the Pakistan all-rounder uttered a few words which the former didn't react to. However, in the same over, Gambhir collided with Afridi while taking a quick single. Following the collision, pleasantries (in Hindi and Punjabi) were exchanged between the duo and eventually the umpires had to intervene to calm down both the players.
Gambhir-Kamran verbal spat in 2010
Another incident involving Gambhir occurred in the fourth game of the 2010 Asia Cup in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. The left-hander missed a nudge around the corner off Saeed Ajmal and the ball was pouched by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who thought he had his man. He
made an overzealous appeal for a catch which was eventually turned down by the umpire.
However, during the drinks break, Gambhir and Kamran advanced towards each other and almost butted heads while exchanging glares and spilling expletives at each other.
Umpire Billy Bowden had to intervene to separate them and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was Gambhir's batting partner at that moment, quickly pulled the Delhi lad away to defuse the tension.
Harbhajan-Akhtar showdown
In the same match where Gambhir and Kamran Akmal were involved in a verbal spat, a showdown also took place between Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh in the dying moments of the game.
India, chasing 267, needed seven runs of the last over. The atmosphere was tense as India didn't have any proper batsman at the crease. Akhtar, who bowled the penultimate over, was trying to ensure that Harbhajan didn't take India home.
During the over, the off-spinner missed one of the balls and Akhtar started hurling expletives in Punjabi. Seeing both the players getting high on emotions, the umpires were forced to intervene.
However, it was Harbhajan who had the last laugh as he smacked Mohammad Amir for a maximum in the next over. He was seen roaring like a tiger which didn't impress Akhtar, who was stationed at the fine-leg boundary.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
