Surinder Khanna, hero of India's first Asia Cup triumph, recalls his finest moment in a conversation with TOI...
There is history attached to the first-ever Asia Cup in 1984. It was the first time Sharjah hosted a One-day International match. Now, 38 years later, Sharjah holds the record for hosting the most ODIs.
The inaugural edition was won by India under the leadership of Sunil Gavaskar on April 13, 1984. Fittingly, it was India's 54-run win against Pakistan that earned them the title. The tournament was played on a round-robin basis in which each team played the other once. India won both their matches, first beating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets and then putting it across Pakistan to top the table.
The star of India's wins was Delhi-born wicketkeeper-batsman Surinder Chamanlal Khanna. He hit an unbeaten 51 (off 69 balls) against Sri Lanka and then scored a skillful 56 (off 72 balls) against Pakistan on a damp, sticky wicket.
Remembering his finest moment in international cricket as if it was yesterday, Khanna told TOI, "It was the first Asia Cup and nobody knew how the wicket was going to play, what the conditions were like. (Sunil) Gavaskar was the captain and he showed immense courage in dropping a veteran player like (Syed) Kirmani and playing me as the wicketkeeper and opening batsman. I thought I would be played only as a batsman and Kiri will be the wicketkeeper.
"Against Sri Lanka, in the first match, fortunately we won the toss and elected to field. We bowled them out for some 90-odd (96). Kapil Dev was not in the team as he was going for his knee operation. Chetan Sharma and Manoj Prabhakar were young, Madan Lal was there as the experienced campaigner. These three bundled out the Lankans and we came to know how the wicket was behaving.
"I opened and by God's grace I got a half-century (51*). I was Man of the Match. It was a comeback for me after a long time. I had made my debut in the 1979 World Cup and then got dropped. That knock boosted my confidence and I felt I was good enough to play for India.
"In the match against Pakistan, the toss was won by our opponents. There was quite a bit of rain before the toss and Pakistan decided to make us bat. It was a slightly damp wicket. Imran Khan didn't play due to a stress fracture but he was watching from the dressing room. Still, the Pakistani bowling line-up boasted of names like Sarfaraz Nawaz, left-arm fast Azeem Hafeez, Shahid Mahboob, Abdul Qadir and the crafty Mudassar Nazar.
"I managed to give a good start along with Ghulam Parkar, who was my opening partner. In those challenging conditions, I again scored fifty-odd (56) and that was very satisfying. I also did well behind the stumps. "When the form is there, you need to make full use of it. That's how I was Man of the Match in both games and Man of the Tournament too.
"Against bowlers of such quality, you need to bat with a positive instinct. Overall, the environment of the team was great," Khanna said.
