Chart-topper: Dravid during his 61 against Pakistan. He finished with 461 runs at 65.85 © Getty Images

Months before I made my international debut, in 1996, all of India was gripped by the glitziest and most hyped World Cup till then. So it was with great anticipation that I went to England in 1999 to play in my first World Cup.

Much like the host country, the tournament was a little understated. There was no big opening ceremony, and apart from one meeting with the Queen, the players did not get together. The buzz in the lead-up to the tournament was nothing compared to what I had experienced in 1996. A footballer getting transferred from a second-division club would get more traction in England than cricket news. Until the tournament started, it felt a little surreal. There was excitement within the team, but you couldn't see it elsewhere.

Once the event began, the buzz picked up. People began to recognise you away from the cricket field, which doesn't usually happen in England. Seeing the likes of Lance Klusener, Shoaib Akhtar and Shane Warne you marvelled at what was happening around you. So did the crowds.

This was probably the last World Cup when players felt a proximity to the fans. They were still invading fields. There were no big fences between you and them and boundaries hadn't yet been pulled in. Also, the ground marshals weren't very strict. This was one of the best aspects of the 1999 World Cup. Now boundaries are taken in, even in English grounds. You can't really feel the emotion of those in the stands.

Back then you couldn't go into a cocoon and shut everything else out. In Manchester against Pakistan, there was no way you could just focus on the next ball. It was a must-win game for us and you could feel that extra edge. The match was played with the tension in Kargil rising. During the lead-up, you couldn't walk around or practise without people coming up to you and talking about the game. The crowds were in your face. You could sense the expectation and pressure - and their joy when you did well.

Rock n'roll it wasn't: a giant cricket ball filled with balloons is carried on to the field for the opening ceremony © AFP

We won pretty comfortably thanks to some excellent bowling by Venkatesh Prasad, and sharp catching - Nayan Mongia's take to dismiss Azhar Mahmood after he was beaten by Anil Kumble's extra bounce was adjudged the catch of the tournament. For some reason, which I find incredible, we have this supremacy over Pakistan in World Cups. After every win, you hear people say, "Now that you have beaten Pakistan, you don't need to win the World Cup." I actually found myself saying, "I don't mind losing to Pakistan, but I want to win the World Cup."

Had we not slipped up in a league game against Zimbabwe, we would have had a good chance of progressing through to the semi-finals. We conceded 51 extras, bowling close to six extra overs, and lost by three runs. Back then there were serious penalties for a poor over rate. You got to bat only as many overs as you finished in your allotted time - after making allowances for delays. But you still had to bowl your 50 overs. When you concede 51 extras, like we did against Zimbabwe, chances are you won't finish on time, and we had to chase the target in 46 overs. Nowadays there is no such immediate penalty; you only pay fines or sit out of a game.

As it turned out, Zimbabwe - who were possibly at the peak of their powers - went on to upset South Africa and make the Super Sixes. Back then you carried forward points from matches against teams that had also progressed to the next round. So Zimbabwe carried the maximum points and we - who had lost to South Africa and Zimbabwe - needed to win every Super Sixes game. And that still wouldn't guarantee our progress. The Pakistan win gave us some hope, but once we lost to Australia, our last game against New Zealand was a dead rubber. We tried but we couldn't get it together for that game.

The cavalry comes out for the India-Pakistan game at Old Trafford © AFP

We weren't the only team conceding extras. Even Zimbabwe gave away 39 in that match. The unnaturally high number of extras from all sides was down to the use of the white Dukes ball. It swung massively and was difficult to control. The Dukes ball was double the trouble for batsmen. There were few big scores in the tournament, and batsmen were made to work really hard. One of the men who did that - against Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald and Steve Elworthy - was Steve Waugh, scoring a legendary hundred in the Super Sixes game at Headingley.

I stayed back for a holiday after we were eliminated. Some of my college friends had come over from India. We just travelled around and chilled out, and followed the cricket enough to know Australia had managed a remarkable resurgence and that the tournament got really exciting towards the back end. The two matches between Australia and South Africa, first in the Super Sixes and then in the semi-final, were unforgettable.

This started a ruthlessly successful era for Australia. I knew the kind of pressure they were under. Early losses in the tournament meant they played the majority of the World Cup knowing that one defeat would kick them out. I later learned that all was not fine between Steve Waugh and Warne, who was coming back from a shoulder operation and faced questions over his fitness and attitude. Warne even contemplated retirement. Then he put in two virtuoso performances in the semi-final and final and mesmerised the world for seven more years.

The beauty of that Australian team was that you couldn't tell what was going on underneath. You could sense there was pressure but you always got 100%, irrespective of the issues among their players. They were always at you.

Tendulkar and Dravid made hundreds against Kenya - the first game Tendulkar played after returning from his father's funeral. India mark the passing with a minute's silence before the game against Zimbabwe © PA Photos, Getty Images

For us, it wasn't that easy to mask our emotions. Early on in the tournament Sachin Tendulkar - our most important batsman by a country mile - lost his father and returned to India for the funeral. He had been training with us and then had to leave. To wake up and realise he was not going to play made it a very emotional day. There was a bit of uncertainty whether he would come back. He missed a game but returned big time against Kenya. It was an incredibly brave thing for him to have done.

For a young player like me it was amazing to witness Tendulkar on his return. People gave him his space. They realised he was not going to be himself. I batted with him when he got that hundred against Kenya, the first time he played after losing his father. You could see the emotion. We added an unbeaten 237 in less than 30 overs that day. There was sense of quiet about him through those 30 overs. You could almost sense he was batting for something more than himself. That salute to his father, looking up to the sky upon reaching the century, turned into a Tendulkar ritual. He looked up immediately after he got his hundred and there were tears in his eyes. Batting with him was quite emotional for me.

It was a tough and memorable World Cup. Australia endured much but fought back; South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand had their hearts broken after an excellent tournament; the groundsmen had to work around the English weather; some matches were carried forward to a second day; bowlers struggled for control, batsmen struggled for runs; and I haven't seen many players control their emotions the way Klusener did after that gut-wrenching tie.

It was a great place and time to be playing cricket, especially when the sun shone. I personally enjoyed my time, finishing as the tournament's leading run scorer in pretty difficult conditions, a year after having been dropped from the ODI side. I also managed to play a couple of games as a wicketkeeper.

The most heartwarming memory of that World Cup is when Sourav Ganguly and I added 318 against Sri Lanka. It was one of those days when everything hit the middle of the bat and flew. It was a flat pitch with a lovely outfield. I remember thinking it was too good to be true. My parents and friends were watching. It was a lovely sunny day in Taunton. I felt I couldn't put a foot wrong. I mean, I hit Muttiah Muralitharan for an inside-out shot over cover. I don't think I ever did that again in my life.

Rahul Dravid scored over 24,000 international runs for India between 1996 and 2012

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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