Nathan
Astle smashed a sublime hundred in the 1996 WC opener against England,
but there's a wonderful story behind his preparations for the match.
The
cricket aficionados even now fondly reminiscence Nathan Astle's
stirring knock in the opening encounter of the 1996 World Cup against
England in Ahmedabad. On an easy paced wicket, he cut and drove
England's pacers like Dominic Cork, Darren Gough and Peter Martin to
pepper the off-side field and compose an entertaining century.
New Zealand eventually won the game by a mere 11 runs and Astle for his sterling knock of 101, was awarded the Man of the Match. However, very few know of the fabled story of an unheralded pani-puri seller, who amazed Astle in the net practice before the game started by bowling with pace and venom.
The pani-puri seller, Bharat Shah, aged 23 at that time, got the chance to bowl at the swashbuckling opener in the nets through one of his friends. He bowled just one over at Astle, but that was enough to stun a batsman, who had amassed over 7,000 ODI runs.
The first three deliveries of his over were reportedly bowled with scorching pace and missed the off-stump by a whisker. Astle managed to somehow defend the next two deliveries, but Bharat had saved his best for the final delivery of the over as he pegged back Astle's stumps to send it for a walk in the park. Astle, who was hugely impressed by the gift-wrapped skills of Bharat, even gave the Man of the Match cheque he received for his game-changing hundred to the pacer.
Bharat was rightly thrilled to receive the chepue from an international cricketer, who was known for his fearless batting against fast bowlers. "The $1,000 cheque means more than the money," he told India Today.
Maybe the Indian selectors, who all the time yearn for a quick bowler, could have watched the youngster rattle New Zealand's premier batsman and beat him for sheer pace.
New Zealand eventually won the game by a mere 11 runs and Astle for his sterling knock of 101, was awarded the Man of the Match. However, very few know of the fabled story of an unheralded pani-puri seller, who amazed Astle in the net practice before the game started by bowling with pace and venom.
The pani-puri seller, Bharat Shah, aged 23 at that time, got the chance to bowl at the swashbuckling opener in the nets through one of his friends. He bowled just one over at Astle, but that was enough to stun a batsman, who had amassed over 7,000 ODI runs.
The first three deliveries of his over were reportedly bowled with scorching pace and missed the off-stump by a whisker. Astle managed to somehow defend the next two deliveries, but Bharat had saved his best for the final delivery of the over as he pegged back Astle's stumps to send it for a walk in the park. Astle, who was hugely impressed by the gift-wrapped skills of Bharat, even gave the Man of the Match cheque he received for his game-changing hundred to the pacer.
Bharat was rightly thrilled to receive the chepue from an international cricketer, who was known for his fearless batting against fast bowlers. "The $1,000 cheque means more than the money," he told India Today.
Maybe the Indian selectors, who all the time yearn for a quick bowler, could have watched the youngster rattle New Zealand's premier batsman and beat him for sheer pace.
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