Sunday Snippets
The euphoric moments of Indian Test Cricket
By Venkatesh Raghavan
Cricket fans across the world might recall the second instance a team batting in the fourth innings chased a total above four hundred and won the chase comfortably. It’s referring to the India versus West Indies Test match at Port of Spain in the mid-seventies. The Windies had declared their second innings at 271 for 6. Their overall lead stood at 403. They were expecting a facile victory.
On this rare occasion, both of India’s star performers, Sunil Gavaskar and GR Vishwanath scored centuries. In fact, this was the only occasion when both Gavaskar and Vishwanath scored centuries in the same innings. The win generated a lot of euphoria in the country though there was only radio commentary and no television coverage in those days.
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Moments of euphoria are not always linked with a victory. In Old Trafford, under Srinivas Venkatraghavan’s captaincy, India was faced with the task of chasing a total of 429. Sunil Gavaskar scored 221 and in the end of the mandatory overs India fell short by 8 runs. The memorable knock by Sunny was a moment of triumph for Indian cricket.
Another instance where India fared well on overseas soil is associated with the 5-test series played between India and Australia which was captained by Bobby Simpson. The Australians were cruising comfortably and had crossed the 120 mark with a few wickets down. Sunil Gavaskar was the skipper for the match. Sunny called Karsan Ghavri to come in and bowl. The Australian umpire objected as Ghavri had been off the field for a long time and as per rules, he cannot bowl till he finishes the stipulated time on the field. Gavaskar handed over the ball to Bhagwat Chandrashekhar. The rest is history as Australia was bundled out for 131. It was a memorable win for the Indian team on foreign soil.
There is another instance when Chandrashekar performed magic with the ball when playing with the West Indies. Albeit it was in a home series. At Eden Gardens, the Windies were faced with a target of 316 in their fourth innings chase. They were fairly comfortable at 150 for four and Viv Richards at the crease. Chandrashekhar ensured that their innings terminated at a 200-plus total. Later on, Viv went on to say Bhagwat Chandrashekhar was the only bowler he feared.
Another memorable moment for India was the Chennai test versus the West Indies. Sunil Gavaskar scored an unbeaten 236 to save India from defeat and the Test ended in a draw. Though India lost the 6-test series 3-0, one of the morning papers said the next day, India were beaten but not with the jaw-bone of an ass.
The first Test at Bombay versus England captained by Keith Fletcher was another memorable Test where India scored a facile win. Spinner Maninder Singh was the hero of the match and England got bundled out for 102 in their fourth innings. There was also an anecdote that is worth mentioning. Krish Srikanth who had arrived as Test opener to partner Sunil Gavaskar was unmindful of the fact that he was standing outside the crease and got stumped easily. Memorable Indian feats serve us with a cup of nostalgia and also get cherished.
