1996–97 SAARC Quadrangular

Last updated November 26, 2023

The third and final SAARC Quadrangular was held in Dhaka in February 1997. The Pakistan 'A' team, led by Asif Mujtaba, won the trophy after beating India 'A' in a rain affected final. ^[1]

The teams

For the first time Pakistan and Sri Lanka took the tournament seriously, and sent strong teams. Asif Mujtaba, the Pak captain, led from the front, and finished as the Player of the Tournament. He was helped in the batting department by Basit Ali and Akhtar Sarfraz. The bowling attack was led by Mohammad Zahid, arguably the fastest bowler at the time. While he struggled with no balls and wides, he still generated lot of pace from the slow wickets, and was a constant menace to the opposition batsmen. medium pacer Azhar Mahmood came good in the final.

The Indian team, (led by Amay Khurasiya, failed to perform up to expectation. In the group match, they were badly beaten by Pak 'A', as the Indian batting collapsed badly. Only the makeshift opener MSK Prasad batted bravely to carry his bat thorough the innings for 56. The next highest score was by Mr. Extra (48). India, However, can consider them a bit unlucky in the final, as they were still in the game (with in form S. Sarath and MSK Prasad at the wicket) when rain intervened, and calculators were used to determine the champions. Indian medium pacer, Harvinder Singh was the top bowler of the tournament with 12 wickets. Sri Lanka achieved their first (and only) victory in SAARC Quadrangular history by beating Bangladesh by 5 wickets. Naveed Nawaz and Ruwan Kalpage batted consistently for the Lankans.

Although the local side (Coached by WI legend Gordon Greenidge) lost all their 3 games, there was no disgrace as all the oppositions were much stronger. The batting looked good, the skipper Akram Khan, his deputy Aminul Islam, the veteran Minhajul Abedin and the youngster Sanwar Hossain all warmed up well for the upcoming ICC trophy with a half century each. The bowling, however, looked completely harmless. Anisur Rahman who did so much damage with the reverse swing in 1994-95 failed to make any impact this time.

Scores in brief

Date	Match			Result
19 Feb.	Bangladesh Vs v Pakistan 'A'	Bangladesh 182/9 ( 43 extras, Hasibul Hossain 42*, Kabir Khan 3/29)	Pakistan'A' 186/4 (Asif Mujtaba 67, Mohammad Wasim 42)	Pakistan 'A' wins by 6 wickets
20 Feb.	India 'A' Vs v Sri Lanka 'A'	-	-	Match abondoend due to bad weather
22 Feb.	Bangladesh Vs v Sri Lanka 'A'	Bangladesh 220/9 (Sanwar Hossain 76, Akram Khan 54, Dulip Liyanage 4/42)	Sri Lanka'A' 222/5(Naveed Nawaz 88)	Sri Lanka 'A' wins by 5 wickets
23 Feb.	India 'A' Vs v Pakistan 'A'	Pakistan 'A' 232/9 (Basit Ali 67, Mohammad Hussain 51, Harvinder Singh 6/43)	India 'A' 164 (MSK Prasad 56*, Mohammad Zahid 3/36)	Pakistan 'A' wins by 68 runs
25 Feb.	Pakistan 'A' Vs v Sri Lanka 'A'	Sri Lanka 'A' 130 Ruwan Kalpage 54, Aaqib Javed4/17)	Pakistan'A' 132/9 (Akhtar Sarfraz 64*, Ranjith 3/27)	Pakistan 'A' wins by 1 wicket
26 Feb.	Bangladesh Vs v India 'A'	Bangladesh 235/7 (Aminul Islam 78, Minhajul Abedin 53, harvinder Singh 4/44)	India 'A' 236/3 (S. Sarath 64*, Gagan Khoda 63)	India 'A' wins by 7 wickets
28 February	Pakistan 'A' Vs India 'A' (Final)	Pakistan 'A' 199 (Asif Mujtaba 91, Noel David 3/32	India 'A' 124/5 (31 overs), (S. Sarath 35*, Azhar Mahmood 3/30)	Pakistan 'A' wins by 38 runs(Parabola Method)

The final

Despite the fact that the local side had been eliminated, a strong holiday crowd gathered to watch the final between the two traditional rivals of the region. They saw plenty of good cricket, but unfortunately late afternoon rain spoiled an exciting finish. The Pak side won the toss and decided to bat first. The Indian new ball bowlers Debashish Mohanty and Arindam Sarkar struck early blows to leave the opposition struggling at 29/2. The Pak captain started the recovery sharing 41 for the 3rd wicket with Akhtar Sarfraz (31). The Pak captain went on to score 91, but he got little support from the middle order. Only Mujahid Jamshed with 26 stood firm. Pakistan lost their last 6 wickets for only 62 runs as off spinner Noel David and the most successful bowler of the tournament Harvinder Singh destroyed the lower order. The Paks batted for only 43.2 overs.

In reply, the India 'A' got off to a solid start, as their opening pair of Wasim Jaffer and Gagan Khoda defied the new ball attack of Aaqib Javed and Mohammad Zahid. The openers, However, failed to convert starts into scores. The skipper, Amay Khurasiya, batting at No. 3, made 27, but the introduction of Azhar Mahmood into the bowling changed the course of the game. From 69/1, India 'A' slumped to 112/5. The run out of Sairaj Bahutule didn't help their. Still they fancied their chances with S. Sarath at the wicket. But the weather had the last say, and according to the Parabola method, Pakistan'A' were declared the winners. Asif Mujtaba was adjudged the player of the Final.

Top batsmen of the tournament (80 or more runs)

Name	Matches	Runs	Average	Highest Score	50
S. Sarath (Ind)	3	99	99.00	64*	1
Ruwan Kalpage (SL)	2	85	85.00	54	1
Naveed Nawaz (SL)	2	94	47.00	88	1
Basit Ali (Pak)	3	90	45.00	67	1
Asif Mujtaba (Pak)	4	179	44.75	91	2
Sanwar Hossain (Ban)	2	89	44.50	76	1
Akhtar Sarfraz (Pak)	4	133	44.33	64*	1
Aminul Islam (Ban)	2	83	41.50	78	1
Akram Khan (Ban)	3	87	29.00	54	1

Note:The Bangladesh middle order batsman Minhajul Abedin played in only one game, and scored 53, thus finishing with an average of 53.00

Top bowlers of the tournament (5 or more wickets)

Name	Matches	Runs	Wickets	Average	Best
Harvinder Singh (Ind)	3	131	12	10.91	6/43
Dulip Liyanage (SL)	2	64	5	12.80	4/42
Aaqib Javed (Pak)	4	91	6	15.16	4/17
Mohammad Zahid (Pak)	3	107	6	17.83	3/36
Azhar Mahmood (Pak)	4	96	5	19.20	3/30
Mohammad Hussain (Pak)	4	97	5	19.40	2/11

Top all-rounder of the tournament

		Batting				Bowling
Name	Matches	Runs	Average	Highest Score	50	Runs	Wickets	Average	Best
Mohammad Hussain (Pak)	4	76	25.33	51	1	97	5	19.40	2/11

Notes

1) The Sri Lanka 'A' team achieved their first and only victory in SAARC Quadrangular history by beating Bangladesh by 5 wickets.

2) The Pak team was unusually generous in giving extra runs. In total, they gave away 120 extras (71 wides, 28 No balls, 28 leg byes and 2 Byes). This a record for the SAARC Quadrangular.

3) Asif Mujtaba's 91 is the 2nd highest score in SAARC Quadrangular history, after Navjot Singh Sidhu's unbeaten 95 against Pak 'A' in 1992.

4) Harvinder Singh's 6/43 against Pakistan 'A' is the best bowling in the tournament's history, improving Tanvir Mehedi's 5/23 against Bangladesh in 1992.

5) In the game against Pak 'A', the Bangladesh last wicket pair of Hasibul Hossain and Anisur Rahman put on unbeaten 51 runs, a tournament record for the 10 wicket partnership.

Related Research Articles

The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from 9 February to 23 March 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the first to be played in Africa.

Khaled Mahmud Sujon is a former Bangladeshi cricketer and a former Test and One Day International captain. A medium-pace bowler and middle-order batsman, he played international cricket for Bangladesh from 1998 to 2006, captaining the team from 2003 to 2004. He started his role as Technical Director of Bangladesh National Cricket Team before the tri-series 2018, where Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are participators.He is known as "Gotidanob" or "Goda" (speedmonster) among fans for his fearsome pace

Umar Gul is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who is the current bowling coach of Quetta Gladiators and interim bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team. Gul was a member of the Pakistan team that won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, being the highest wicket taker of the tournament, along with being the runner-up of the 2007 tournament, in which he was also the highest wicket taker.

Mohammad Asif Mujtaba is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 25 Test matches and 66 One Day Internationals from 1986 to 1997. During the, 1994–95 period he briefly served as the deputy captain to Saleem Malik in the Pakistan national team.

Mohammad Akram Hussain Khan is a former Bangladeshi cricketer. A hard hitting middle order batsman, Akram played first-class cricket for Chittagong Division. As captain, he led Bangladesh to being the winners of the 1997 ICC Trophy. He was the chief selector of the BCB, along with Habibul Bashar and Minhajul Abedin.

Enamul Haque Moni, also known as Enamul Haq Moni, is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 10 Tests and 29 ODIs from 1990 to 2003. After retiring from competitive cricket he became an umpire, and made his first appearance in an ODI between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on 3 December 2006. He is the first Bangladeshi Test-match cricketer to umpire in international cricket.

Minhajul Abedin Nannu is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in 27 One Day Internationals from 1986 to 1999. He captained Bangladesh twice during the Asia Cup of 1990–91. In local cricket arena he is more commonly known by his nickname, "Nannu".

Anisur Rahman is a former Bangladeshi cricketer who played in two ODIs from 1995 to 1998. He also stood as an umpire in nine ODI games between 2014 and 2018, and in 13 Twenty20 Internationals between 2012 and 2018.

The 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India from 7 October to 5 November 2006. It was the fifth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. The tournament venue was not confirmed until mid-2005 when the Indian government agreed that tournament revenues would be free from tax. Australia won the tournament, their first Champions Trophy victory. They were the only team to get one loss in the tournament, as all other teams lost at least two matches. West Indies, their final opponents, beat Australia in the group stage but were bowled out for 138 in the final and lost by eight wickets on the Duckworth–Lewis method. West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle was named Player of the Tournament.

India has won the Cricket World Cup twice, once in 1983 and then in 2011. India finished as runners-up in 2003 and 2023.

The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural Twenty20 International cricket world championship, contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament—the ten Test-playing nations and the finalists of the 2007 WCL Division One tournament: Kenya and Scotland. India won the tournament, beating Pakistan in the final.

The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural event in South Africa in September 2007. As before, the tournament featured 12 male teams – nine of the ten Test-playing nations and three associate nations, which earned their places through a qualification tournament. Matches were played at three English grounds – Lord's and The Oval in London, and Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The tournament was organised in parallel with the women's tournament, with the men's semi-finals and final being preceded by the semi-finals and final from the women's event. The final took place at Lord's on Sunday 21 June with Pakistan beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets and England beating New Zealand by six wickets in the women's final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Amir</span> Pakistani cricketer

Mohammad Amir is a former Pakistani cricketer and bowler for the Pakistan national cricket team. He was a left-arm fast bowler and a left handed batsman. He retired from international cricket in 2020 aged 28. He was a member of the Pakistan team that won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

The 2nd SAARC cricket tournament was the second edition of the tournament. It held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in December 1994. Teams from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka participated in the tournament. Bangladesh, still an associate member of the ICC, played their full strength national side, while their neighbors sent their 'A' teams for the tournament. India won the cup after beating Bangladesh in the final. All the matches were 50 overs affair.

The 1992–93 SAARC Quadrangular was the inaugural SAARC Quadrangular cricket tournament. It started in Dhaka, Bangladesh in December 1992 amidst great enthusiasm and excitement.

The 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup was a quadrangular ODI cricket tournament held in May 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of India. It featured the national cricket teams of New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the hosts India. The tournament was won by Sri Lanka, which defeated Pakistan in the best-of-three finals. Sri Lanka became the Champion.

The 2011 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a ten-team tournament held in Bangladesh in November 2011 to decide the final four qualifiers for the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup. Additionally, the top two teams, excluding Sri Lanka and West Indies, would qualify for the 2012 ICC Women's World Twenty20.

The 1997–98 Coca-Cola Triangular Series was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India in May 1998. It was a tri-nation series between Bangladesh, India and Kenya. India defeated Kenya in the final to win the tournament.

The final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was played on 18 June 2017 between Pakistan and India at The Oval in London, to determine the winner of the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. Pakistan qualified for the final by defeating the hosts England convincingly by 8 wickets in the first semi-final at Cardiff in Wales on 14 June, and reached their maiden Champions Trophy final. India, the defending champions, came into the final by defeating Bangladesh with ease by 9 wickets in the second semi-final at Birmingham on 15 June, to reach their fourth Champions Trophy final, a record.

Pakistan cricket team won the World Cup in 1992 under the captaincy of Imran Khan. Pakistan have also been runners up at the 1999 Cricket World Cup where they lost to Australia in the Final. They have been Semi Finalists four times and have also reached the Quarter Finals twice. Pakistan's historical win–loss record at the cricket world cup is 49-36, with 3 no results. Javed Miandad has appeared in six Cricket World Cups which is more than any other player from Pakistan.

References

↑ The Home of CricketArchive CricketArchive SAARC Quadrangular 1996-97 (Retrieved 2009-09-19) Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] The Home of CricketArchive CricketArchive SAARC Quadrangular 1996-97 (Retrieved 2009-09-19) Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[1]