Border recalls a cold Feb 26, 1993 when he beat Gavaskar's record in NZ
Border recalls a cold Feb 26, 1993 when he beat Gavaskar's record in NZ
February 26 is not a regular date for Allan Border. The Australian legend surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's highest Test score of 10,122 against New Zealand at Christchurch on this day in 1993.
However, the great left-hander needed a little reminder to recall one of the most memorable days of his career. "Oh is it? How could I forget this date!" he remarked.
Border along with former Aussie pacer Damien Fleming, Australian women's cricketer Melanie Jones and former India star Vinod Kambli were at the D Y Patil Sports Stadium (Nerul), which hosted 1,200 rescued child labourers from NGO Pratham to mark the Global Foundation Day with Aussie NGO Red Dust yesterday.
"It was a great thing to beat Gavaskar's record. We were playing in freezing cold. There was very little crowd (approx 6,000) to witness it. I wanted to achieve it in front of an Australian crowd preferably at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). But it was great moment for me. I never imagined I would surpass that score," Border, who took 139 Tests to accomplish the feat, told MiD DAY.
"There was a lot of speculation in the media and everyone around, which added to the pressure. It started affecting my concentration whenever I went into bat. I was 50 runs short of Gavaskar heading into the New Zealand Test. But I had a few things on mind as well. I did not want a fourth consecutive duck. So, it was a huge relief just getting there, rather than an overwhelming elation," said Border, who scored 88 in that innings.
