Desert Storm: The Innings That Defined A Generation
The 90s was a time where the game of cricket was starting to evolve and move into the modern age. This period saw the innovation of tactics, such as former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe using the off-spinner Dipak Patel with the new ball in the 1992 World Cup and having Mark Greatbatch open the batting as a pinch-hitting option, or Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga pushing Sanath Jayasuriya and ‘keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana as openers and basically asking them to go hell-for-leather in the first 15 overs, something which got them to win the 1996 World Cup as the absolute underdogs. Even in Indian cricket, a churn was happening during this time, where ageing stars like Kris Srikkanth, Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev started to retire, a new crop of players emerged led by Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Ajay Jadeja, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and the likes. But one player who started his international career as a baby-faced 16-year-old in 1989 at Pakistan, of all places, was t...