An ODI World Cup generally comes after four years. An associate member beating former world champions – an upset of considerable magnitude – probably comes once in four decades. It needed a leap of faith on a leap year’s day – February 29, 1996 – when Maruice Odumbe’s Kenya beat the West Indies at Nehru stadium in Pune in the World Cup.
Twenty-seven years later, Pune is again hosting a World Cup game and both West Indies and Kenya are not part of this carnival, having lost in the qualifying process. More than 3,500 ODIs have been played since that game. But Kenya’s 73-run win over Richie Richardson’s team remains one of the biggest upsets of all time.
Former Maharashtra player Indrajeet Kamtekar said, “I was a ball boy for that 1996 match. I had made it to the Maharashtra U-16 and U-19 teams. Being a left-arm spinner, I was also used as a practice bowler in the West Indies nets the previous day.” He also remembered that Brian Lara didn’t even bat in the nets. “He and the West Indies team were so confident about winning the game. But that doesn’t mean the other guys took the nets lightly.”
The nets during those days were neither long in length nor big in height. West Indies keeper Jimmy Adams was standing behind the nets because it was impossible to stand upfront to paceman Curtly Ambrose. “When Sherwin Campbell cover-drove Ambrose in the practice session, the bowler followed it up with a bouncer,” recalled Kamtekar. “The ball flew over the net and Adams was in the right place to collect it!”
Kamtekar was quite disappointed when West Indies won the toss the next day and chose to field. For, the opportunity to watch the Caribbean players bat 50 overs had been lost. Expectedly, Hanumant Singh-coached Kenya, playing their fifth-ever ODI and fifth World Cup game, were bowled out cheaply (166) with extras top scoring with 37.
“We thought that they would chase the target with ease and we may not even see Lara bat,” said Kamtekar. Hence he decided to do what can be termed as unthinkable for a volunteer or a ball boy. “I left the ground and went home during the lunch break so that I could at least watch the Pakistan vs South Africa game (being played in Karachi) on TV. Of course, I realised my folly after the West Indies collapsed (93 all out) as sport saw one of its greatest upsets.”
Kamtekar’s association with Pune’s World Cup match continues as he will be a liaison office for the match referee during an England-Holland game on November 8. When Nehru stadium got its lone World Cup game in 1996, there was no great demand for tickets for the West Indies-Kenya matchup. It was the second time that the city got a World Cup game, but not an India game. The city had hosted the 1987 World Cup game between England and Sri Lanka.
Former MCA secretary Riyaz Bagwan said, “I was far, far away from both cricket administration and politics then. I used to play for the Central Bank and was given a pass for that match. Wes Hall was the manager of the West Indies team and I clearly remember them going to Kenya’s dressing room after the game to congratulate them.”
Bagwan also said that Kenya’s bespectacled and bulky wicketkeeper Tariq Iqbal didn’t look like a sportsman. “But he opened the innings and took a couple of crucial catches too.”
VK Ramaswamy, one of the umpires for the game, went a step further. “Most of the Kenyan players were not match fit as per the present standards.” Ramaswamy and Pakistan’s Khizer Hayat had teamed up for the game. Ramaswamy said, “The match referee was Tiger Pataudi, whom I met only on the morning of the match unlike the present-day system where all the match officials meet a day before. Hayat had come to Pune in the middle of the night from Patna.”
Kenya and Zimbabwe were scheduled to play in Patna three days before the Pune game. But the rain took the Patna game to the reserve day. Both Hayat and Pataudi were a part of that match too. “Last but interesting thing about travelling in those days,” said Ramawsamy. “I was based in Hyderabad and I travelled to Pune via Chennai and Bengaluru.” Now, there are eight direct flights from Hyderabad to Pune and having chartered flights for cricket games is a regular fare.
Pune-based Jayant Gokhale, one of the scorers of that match, came face-to-face with Brian Lara, who had overtaken Garry Sobers’ then record Test innings score of 365 not out two years ago. Gokhale was also gifted a tie by the Kenyan team. Despite the humiliating defeat and giving a walkover to Sri Lanka, the West Indies reached the semifinals and were denied only in the last over by Australia in Mohali. They have not reached the knockout phase of any ODI World Cup since.
Kenya went a step ahead and reached the World Cup semifinal in 2003 when it was hosted in their own continent. They have played only 93 ODIs in 20 years after that great run. West Indies played 400-plus games in the same phase.
