Sunday Snippets
By Venkatesh RaghavanIndia getting skittled out for 36 in the Adelaide Oval Test was reminiscent of occasions when the team score failed to touch the three digit mark in previous instances. The first that comes to my memory is when India was playing against England at Lords.
England in their first essay had piled up a massive 629. India responded with 302 all out. The Indian team was forced to follow on. In their second essay, India was bowled out for 42, an all time low for them in Test cricket. Ajit Wadekar was the Captain of the Indian side. Prior to that disastrous series against England where the Indian side suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat, Ajit Wadekar had three series wins to his credit, two against England and one against the West Indies, before being faced with this Waterloo series.
Much later, when India toured New Zealand after being meted out a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the touring West Indies, the side again met with a two-digit tally in their innings essay. The first Test took place at Auckland and India comfortably won it. The second Test ended in a tame draw. The third Test was at Wellington and Richard Hadlee routed the Indian side for a total of 81 in their final essay.
This also is reminiscent of times when teams playing against India came up with two-digit scores. It took place in Australia, way back in the eighties when India had lost the first Test match, drawn the second and was playing its final Test against the hosts. India had conceded a huge lead to Australia in their first Innings. In their second knock GR Vishwanath scored a century and helped India achieve a tally of over 400 runs. Australia was faced with the task of batting in the fourth innings and a less than modest total of 143 to achieve. On the evening of the penultimate day, Australia ended with 24 for 3 with Karsan Ghavri claiming the wicket of Greg Chappel for a duck. On the final day commentary that got aired early morning Indian standard time, Australia got routed for 83.
This match will also be remembered for another reason, though not a very pleasant one to recall. When Sunil Gavaskar, the skipper of the Indian team was given out by the umpire after he had scored 70, Sunny taking umbrage to the umpire’s decision asked his opening partner Chetan Chauhan to walk away from the wicket. Fortunately, the Indian team management saved the day and the match was allowed to proceed.
Another instance that comes to mind is the First Test match against the touring English side that India played in Bombay. The Indians were bowled out for a modest total nearing the 250 mark. The English side completed their first essay conceding a slender lead to India. India in their second innings did a repeat and scored a 200 plus total again. It was England’s turn to face the fourth innings. There was anticipation in the air as their victory target of 200 plus was not regarded as achievable with sensible batting. The English side barely managed to cross the three-figure mark. They were bundled out for 102.
Another instance that comes to mind happened more recently in India’s three test home series against the touring Australians. India had set a target of over 170 runs for the fourth innings. The Australian side was routed out for 108. I recall this series as it was a very low-scoring affair, with Australia winning the first match and India managing to emerge victorious in the rest of the tests albeit by the skin of their teeth.
It’s not about just crossing the three-figure mark in Test cricket. There were also low-scoring matches that were characteristic of the pitch that the teams were playing on. For instance, Chepauk in Chennai was a spinning track known for its low-scoring matches. I will cite an instance from a Ranji Trophy final to give you an idea of how menacing a spin track could prove to be for a batting side. Bombay batted first and were all out for 151 with spinners Venkat Raghavan and VV Kumar sharing the honours. Subsequently the Tamil Nadu side was bundled out for 80. In their second knock, Bombay were bowled out for 113. Tamil Nadu could manage only 63 in the fourth innings of the match. It has to be understood that while Venkat Raghavan and Kumar were good spinners, Bombay too had Padmakar Shivalkar who could wreck any batting side on a spinning track.
Riveting to what happens in low-scoring Test matches or Tests in which the team gets routed for a low score, Chepauk played villain with the touring West Indies side in the mid-seventies, when they were bowled out for 154 in the fourth innings of the match. In recent years, teams touring India, had complained to the match adjudicator against the Nagpur wicket being unplayable. However, the Indian side defended the allegation stating, “Both teams played under the same conditions.” I can recall that the team that was again at the receiving end of the spin track at Chepauk was the touring West Indies in the late seventies in a 6-Test series with India. They managed to set up a fourth innings target of 121 for the home side. Much to the credit of the touring side, India managed to win the Test by just three wickets.
To sum up, while at times the pitch or nature of the wicket may play spoilsport for a Test side, there are instances when teams crash to defeat owing to sheer irresponsible batting.
