If you grew up watching Indian cricket in the late 1980s and early '90s, you don't need much more than just that number to feel the agony. A team with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in their pomp, was humbled by Chaminda Vaas & Co after their chief tormentor from the time, Sanath Jayasuriya, had sent them on a leather hunt in shirt-soaking humidity.
That afternoon, Jayasuriya had threatened to raze down Saeed Anwar's once seemingly unsurmountable 194, another number from that era no Indian fan needs any reminding of, except when you were battling for one-upmanship in a game of cricket trump cards. Jayasuriya fell five short, stumped only because he had nothing left to give, needing IV fluids to recoup after batting for 161 balls.
It was a jolt for Indian fans of that era, who had grown up with Desert Storm, a spectacle livened by Tony Greig's booming voice that brought to life "dancing in the aisles". Or for those who watched Tendulkar's riposte to Henry Olonga 26 winters ago.
Who knew it would be among the last few chapters of India in Sharjah for over two decades - blame match fixing.
That long wait for "India" to return to Sharjah will have spanned 23 years, 11 months and 14 days when Harmanpreet Kaur's team sets foot inside the storied venue to play Australia in a women's T20 World Cup fixture on Sunday with everything to play for. It's possible the venue's glittering, though not unstained, history will not evoke any sense of nostalgia within the current group - Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia and Shreyanka Patil weren't even born when India last played here.
For that alone, Sunday promises to be quite an occasion - when the baton will be passed, figuratively of course, from the Sachin era to the Shafali era, with an entire generation in between - MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli… - missing out on the allure of the Friday afternoon magic in Sharjah, where India didn't just have to counter reverse swing but also a vociferous crowd.
Between then and now, we have had the IPL - in 2014, 2020 and 2021 - and the Women's T20 Challenge 2020 (the precursor to the Women's Premier League) - making pitstops in Sharjah, while the showstoppers have been reserved for Dubai. And, in this period, while India's standing in the game, both as a team and financially, has grown several folds, Sharjah continues to remain a throwback to the good old 1990s.
Flakes of rust come off steel pillars that hold the top tier of the main pavilion block that has remained untouched. The structure of VIP enclosures that used to house the who's who of Bollywood - and many others, some savoury, some not - have remained the same, except for old chairs being replaced with cushy leather seats. The long-stemmed ceiling fans continue to be the biggest source of relief, even though those in the media centre have been given the added luxury of coolers. The steel gates that separated the players' area from the hospitality and media boxes are still present even if it takes little effort to jump over them.
It's not just the inner surroundings that have retained the old-world charm. The azaan (call to prayer) from the mosque nearvy echoes around the open ground, bringing work, around the factories and warehouses in the vicinity, to a standstill five times a day. The chai shop - immune to the concept of digital payments - remains a source of relief to the massive gig-worker population that lives and works in the industrial area.
If some of them aree lucky enough to afford the time to watch some cricket, they will realise how close they are to the action, looking straight down from the low-built stands, especially from the main block. The hooting and chanting remain, along with the added flavour of Sri Lanka's papare band that has fans, even the cricketers at times, crooning to ballets and blockbusters of the past.
Mazhar Khan, whose association with the venue as general manager spans over four decades now, continues to overlook all the decking up. "Fourteen thousand tickets, all sold," he says as he continues to receive messages requesting for the prized pieces of paper. "So much has changed in Indian cricket, and world cricket. But it's impossible to cater to everyone's demand for tickets."
The more things change, the more they remain the same. Like Sharjah.