Yashpal Sharma's birth anniversary: Revisiting his best performances for India

Yashpal Sharmas birth anniversary Born on August 11 1954 Sharma was a member of Indias 1983 World Cupwinning squad and was known for his unshakable courage that in the late 70s and early 80s provided strength to the Indian middle orderSharma played 37 Tests and 42 OneDay Internationals for India during his sixyear career scoring 1606 and 883 runs respectively He passed away on July 13 in 2021He scored two centuries and 13 fifties for India between 1978 and 1985Former India cricketer Yashpal Sharma was regarded as one of the best middleorder batsmen of his generation The fearless attitude of tearing apart opposing bowlers helped India win their first World Cup in 1983 Sharma had earned the trust of the Indian supporters since the first match of the seasonHe represented his nation in 37 Tests and 42 ODIs scoring two centuries and 13 fifties for India between 1978 and 1985Having made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1978 the righthander was given his first Test cap against England at Lords Five years later he would win the Cricket World Cup with India at the same venueAlso Read They came they played they conqueredAfter a successful World Cup run the righthanded batters career took a turn for the worse His poor performances in the following series against Pakistan and the West Indies cost him his position in the Test squad He did however continue to play OneDay Internationals and FirstClass cricketOn the occasion of his 69th birth anniversary lets take a look at five of his knocks100 vs Australia 1979 In 1979 while playing against Australia at Delhis Arun Jaitley Stadium Sharma scored his first Test century India declared their first innings after scoring 510 runs Aside from Sharma Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath also scored 100 runs The Test however ended in a tie89 vs West Indies 1983 Sharma hit his highest ODI score against the West Indies in the first match of the 1983 World Cup His 120ball 89 aided Indias solid start to the campaign India scored 262 runs on the strength of the explosive knock The West Indians responded by falling 34 runs short of the mark140 vs England 1982 Sharmas greatest score in the games purest format came in the fifth Test of the sixmatch series against England His 140run effort along with Vishwanaths 222 kept India from collapsing in the first innings resulting in a draw61 vs England 1983 In the 1983 World Cup India was reeling at 50 for the loss of two wickets while chasing down 214 runs in 60 overs against England Sharmas bat showed once more in the crucial game scoring 61 runs to lead the team to a place in the final40 vs Australia 1983When India faced Australia in the final group match of the 1983 World Cup it became a mustwin situation While the top order collapsed like a pack of cards Yashpal Sharma took charge and hit a muchneeded runaball 40 to help the side reach 247 runs The bowlers outstanding performances contributed to their 118run victoryWith agency inputs