5 things every fan remembers from the 90s

“It was GavaskarThe real masterJust like a wallWe couldn't out Gavaskar at all, not at allYou know the West Indies couldn't out Gavaskar at all.”Quite a few people remember The Gavaskar Calypso written by Lord Relator to celebrate Sunil Gavaskar's first Test series in the West Indies in 1970-71. The lyric is particularly significant as it epitomises the powerful sense of nostalgia that cricket never fails to evoke.There was no Sunil Gavaskar in the 90s - many of us were not fortunate enough to have seen him ply his trade. But for us, a generation of cricket lovers growing up in the 90s, cricket was the sport everyone watched.In many parts of India, cable television had just arrived and the prospect of getting together to watch a high octane clash had a romanticism of its own. Shops would be closed with their shutters down at mid-day if a Tendulkar or an Azhar was batting.Every time we look back, the 90s is the decade that still has a special charm of its own. And cricket forms an integral part of this romantic nostalgia. We never fail to get maddened with a strange longing every time the memories of cricket from the 90s come back to haunt us.Let us travel down the memory lane and re-live some of those moments.

#5 The last decade of the bowlers

Courtney Walsh and Saqlain Mushtaq at work

The 90s is popularly considered to be the last decade 'of the bowlers'. Cricket lovers across the world are unanimous in their distaste about how much the scales are getting tilted in favour of the batsmen in the modern game. While the crazy scoops and switch hits are scintillating to watch, it is sad to see that no one wants to be a bowler now.

With flat pitches and the barrier of 400 in ODIs also getting crossed every odd day, a popular joke doing the rounds is that a time will come when we might as well replace the bowlers with bowling machines.

But the 90s were visibly different. Batsmen had to play quality bowling attacks in trying conditions, and any score above 200 was difficult to chase in ODIs. On green tops where the ball swung viciously, it was the last decade of the fiery West Indies quicks who struck fear into the heart of any renowned batsman. The likes of Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh were difficult to contend with on any track.

The 90s saw some of the finest fast bowlers in Shaun Pollock, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Alan Donald and Glen McGrath. In the spin department, the world saw Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Saqlain Mushtaq, who were the finest exponents of spin bowling.

With such iconic bowlers around, the batsmen had to endure nightmarish times. Only four batsmen averaged over 50 in Test matches in that decade.

Batsmen in the 90s averaging over 50s in Test matches

Player	Span	Matches	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100s	50s	0s
SR Tendulkar	1990-1999	69	109	12	5626	217	58.00	22	21	7
SR Waugh	1990-1999	89	143	26	6213	200	53.10	18	28	11
BC Lara	1990-1999	65	112	4	5573	375	51.60	13	29	4
GA Gooch	1990-1995	45	83	2	4176	333	51.55	12	17	3

#4 Day-night matches at Sharjah

Sharjah was one of Sachin’s favourite hunting grounds

Remember the sudden dust storms and the players lying flat on the ground? And the epic India versus Pakistan encounters under floodlights? Sharjah cricket has witnessed myriad emotions and high octane drama, and is the proud holder of many records. For any child growing up in the 90s, day-night cricket matches at Sharjah had a charm of their own.

One particular match that has never been forgotten by cricket fans all over the world is the final of the 1998 Hero Cup. In the previous match leading up to the final, India, chasing a paltry Zimbabwean total of 205, had succumbed to an unthinkable defeat courtesy a fiery performance by the then Zimbabwean quick, Henry Olonga. Olonga had blown away the Indian top order and taken the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar.

The Indian legend was made to look silly as he was out to Olonga off two consecutive deliveries, the first one being called a no-ball. Olonga had Tendulkar fending at a short delivery directed at his rib cage, much to the dismay of the Indian viewers.

The final was touted to be a Tendulkar vs Olonga contest from the very beginning. And Tendulkar did not disappoint - he descended on Olonga with all the wrath of heaven. He started out by slicing a short delivery that went flying over the deep third man, almost prophetically predicting the upper-cut which Tendulkar would employ against Shoaib Akhtar so successfully in the 2003 World Cup.

Soon he was charging down the wicket to hit Olonga over extra cover. When the Zimbabwean tried a slower delivery, it was dispatched with disdain for a straight six over the sightscreen. Olonga did not know what had hit him - when he was taken off the attack, he had conceded about 46 odd runs off 6 overs, something which was unthinkable in those times.

When Paul Strang came into the attack, Tendulkar was severe on him as well, dancing down the track and lofting him for sixes. Sourav Ganguly at the other end took a particular fancy to Grant Flower as he kept dispatching balls to the roof of the stadium between long on and deep mid-wicket.

Tendulkar brought up his 21st century that day as India went on to win with all 10 wickets in hand.

#3 Jonty Rhodes

Jonty Rhodes takes a flying catch in 1992

“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Jonty!” Who doesn't remember this famous headline of a newspaper that has now been so oft-repeated that it has almost turned into a cliché? During the 1992 World Cup game between South Africa and Pakistan, Jonty Rhodes became a household name after effecting the famous run out of Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Inzamam had tried a flick and missed it. With the ball having lobbed off his pad towards the point region, he sauntered for a single but was sent back. Rhodes picked up the ball at point, sprinted like a hare and with a flying leap took out all three stumps. Inzamam's wicket was the turning point as Pakistan faltered after that. And the run out became one of the high points of that World Cup.

For a decade, Rhodes made that backward point region his very own. In the South Africa versus West Indies Hero Cup match at the Brabourne stadium in 1993, the crowd kept chanting Jonty's name as he finished with five catches and won the Man of the Match award exclusively for his fielding.

Rhodes stands at a watershed moment in the history of cricket - before him, fielding was considered to be the Achilles' heel of many a great team. But Rhodes revolutionised the game as he added a new dimension to cricket. Fans started idolising him, and fielding was all of a sudden considered to be an important part of the game.

The conditions of the outfield improved and a whole new generation of young players was born; a generation of players who took their fielding seriously. Injecting passion into fielding is the biggest contribution of Jonty Rhodes.

#2 The Tendulkar-Lara rivalry

Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara

The 90s is considered by many to be the decade of Tendulkar. This period saw the rise of the maestro as he demolished one bowling attack after another. Not only was he scoring big runs, but also he was scoring them at an enviable strike-rate. His explosive batting at the top of the order re-defined cricket for fans around the world.

For many, he became the household name for whom you watched cricket. The decade saw a relatively young Tendulkar in scintillating form tearing apart attacks. After the millennium, Tendulkar got beset with injuries and though he would go on to play international cricket for 13 more years, he was more strategic than vindictive with the bat. The high backlift was gone - Tendulkar was using his natural flair and immense understanding of the game to keep on piling the runs.

The young Tendulkar was also quite a handful with the ball. Who has forgotten the famous Hero Cup semi-final against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in 1993, when South Africa needed 6 runs to win off the last over and Tendulkar bowled his side to victory? Sadly, the great man hardly bowled towards the end of his career.

While the young Tendulkar was known for his big-hitting, a certain Brian Charles Lara was known for the beauty he brought to the game. The famous exaggerated backlift, the twinkle-toed shuffle, the majestic shots through the offside - to watch Lara was to experience poetry in motion. Dubbed as the 'Michael Jordan of cricket' by Barrack Obama, Lara for some was the most beautiful batsman of the decade.

Both Tendulkar and Lara scored heavily throughout the 90s at a time when it was the norm for the bowlers to dominate batsmen. The question of who the greater between the two was has resulted in far-reaching and never-ending debates.

Many who grew up watching cricket during the 90s consider it a privilege to have watched these two stalwarts of the game.

#1 Cricket advertisements of the 90s

Familiar faces on Indian cricket channels of the 1990s

No Indian cricket lover from the 90s has forgotten the classic Dairy Milk advertisement which gave us one of the most iconic images in the era of cable television - a girl making her way onto the field and dancing with an enviable gay abandon. Run under the 'Real taste of Life' campaign in 1993, the advertisement was a runaway hit as it used cricket effectively to position its brand. Cricket and Dairy Milk could both magically awaken the little child in every grown-up.

Be it the plot, the music or the casting, 90s cricket ads had something about them which still makes us remember them with a certain degree of nostalgic fondness. Remember the Pepsi advertisement where Shahrukh Khan impersonates Tendulkar to walk into the Indian dressing room as he looks greedily at the fridge stacked with Pepsi cans? But he is mistaken for Sachin and Azharuddin sends him in to bat. A panic-stricken SRK meets Tendulkar on the way who says, "I'll take it from you." As a relieved SRK is about to hand over his bat, Tendulkar takes the Pepsi can and walks away.

And talking about impersonation in 90s cricket ads, one of the most popular ones was a Pepsi advertisement that few would have forgotten. Sachin makes a surprise appearance in this ad among a group of boys, all of whom are carrying bats and wearing Tendulkar masks. Imagine their surprise when one of them turns out to be the great man himself!

The list is actually endless. The surprise endings and the catchy jingles have made some of these advertisements immortal. For any kid growing up in the 90s in India, the memory of these advertisements is intrinsically linked with the experience of watching cricket. If it was a tense moment in the game or even if Tendulkar had just got out, no one could be unhappy when these ads were on.

They just don't make them like that any more.