The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai completes 50 years this year. It is an extremely revered site for cricket lovers from the city. In fact, it can also be called a place of worship for them for the numerous memories they have had here over the years. As the stadium completes 5 decades, I am reminded of the very first time I entered this place to watch a match way back in 1998.
It was a Ranji One-Day West Zone League match between Mumbai and Gujarat. It was my brother’s eighth birthday, so apart from both of us, our parents also joined us. Our major reason for going for this match was to see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli bat together.
Apart from them, the Mumbai team also comprised of some other well-known names like Amol Muzumdar, Pravin Ambre, Abey Kuruvilla, Paras Mhambrey, Jatin Paranjpe, Ramesh Pawar, etc. It was a star-studded Mumbai line up back then.
Although this was my first visit to the Wankhede, it was the second time I set foot inside a cricket stadium. The first time was in the same year at the Brabourne Stadium for a match between Mumbai and Australia. Myself, my father and brother got to see Sachin score his first double hundred in first-class cricket in the match where eventually Mumbai beat Australia (read more about that match HERE). I was expecting a similar experience at the Wankhede.
Photo for representational purpose only. Source: Deccan Chronicle
There was nothing known as ‘October heat’ that would continue till November back then. Hence, it was a pleasant Sunday November 22 morning on the day of the match. The excitement inside me knew no bounds. As we entered the stadium, it took me a while to believe that I was indeed inside the Wankhede for the first time. For some time, I was just looking around the stadium.
I was hoping to see Mumbai’s star batsmen chase the target and that’s what happened. Mumbai won the toss and sent Gujarat into bat. Kuruvilla and Mhambrey ensured that the opposition never got going. They were eventually reduced to 181 for 9 in their 50 overs. This was some sort of recovery after they were 15 for 3 at one stage. There were some fun moments when Kuruvilla stood near the boundary where we were sitting and there was some funny banter from the crowd.
The excitement in the stadium knew no bounds when Mumbai’s captain Sachin Tendulkar came into bat with Rajesh Sutar. Mumbai lost Sutar early at the score of 11. But the fall of wicket was met with cheers of joy as that gave us a chance of watching Sachin and Kambli bat together. Me, and a lot of others, were in the stadium for precisely this reason. Their on-pitch pair instantly reminds us of their historic 664 run partnership during an inter-school Harris Shield tournament in 1988.
The beloved duo from Mumbai didn’t disappoint as they started going after the Gujarat bowling and we got to see an array of attacking shots from both. To see the two in action play a wide range of shots on my very first outing at the Wankhede was something I can’t explain in words. A sixer Kambli hit near the stand where we were seated is still fresh in my memory and the moment of the match for me.
Both Tendulkar and Kambli reached half centuries in quick time. The former eventually got out but not after scoring a delightful 51 of just 36 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Kambli continued the onslaught and he ended up with 90 not out of just 61 balls. His innings contained 10 fours and 3 sixes! Mumbai went onto chase the target in just 25.5 overs with just 3 wickets down.
I couldn’t have asked for a better first visit to the Wankhede.
This was also probably the last match-winning partnership in a limited overs match between Tendulkar and Kambli. If not that, it is surely a lesser-known one. The match wasn’t recorded as first-class matches hardly got live coverage in those days. Hence, there is not much about the match on the internet, except scorecards like THIS one.
That makes it all the more special.