Driving England to despair
Partab Ramchand - 18 December 2001

Two batsmen playing throughout an uninterrupted day's play in Test cricket is still a rare feat, despite the proliferation of matches and conditions that have been getting progressively better for batting. Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe were the first pair of batsmen to accomplish the feat, doing so against Australia at Melbourne in 1924-25. When Gundappa Viswanath and Yashpal Sharma batted through the whole day against England at Madras in 1981-82, they were only the seventh pair of batsmen to do so.

The next day, the two carried on relentlessly, showing intense concentration and fierce determination. Viswanath, after a year-long bad run, had gotten into form with a century in the third Test at New Delhi, and after that he was rarely in trouble. Yashpal, who was making a comeback after being dropped for a poor tour of Australia and New Zealand the previous season, batted in obdurate fashion.

England came to Madras for the fifth Test hoping to square the series, and it was with this in mind that Keith Fletcher put India in to bat after winning the toss. The move seemed to be justified as, shortly after lunch, India were 51 for two, with Sunil Gavaskar being one of the batsmen dismissed. Viswanath joined Dilip Vengsarkar, and the two took the score to 150 before the latter was hit on the head by a ball from Bob Willis and had to retire. It was in the post-tea session that Yashpal Sharma joined Viswanath. The two made it safely through to the close of play, with Viswanath on 64 and Yashpal on five in a score of 178 for two.

The next day, the two carried on relentlessly, showing intense concentration and fierce determination. Viswanath, after a year-long bad run, had gotten into form with a century in the third Test at New Delhi, and after that he was rarely in trouble. Yashpal, who was making a comeback after being dropped for a poor tour of Australia and New Zealand the previous season, batted in obdurate fashion. Together they drove the bowlers to despair with a combination of watchful cricket and an array of strokes. None of the five main England bowlers - Willis, Graham Dilley, Ian Botham, Derek Underwood and Paul Allott - could break the partnership, and when Fletcher tried Graham Gooch, even the change bowler failed in the objective. At the close of play, India had progressed to 395 without further loss, with Viswanath on 181 and Yashpal on 102.

By the third morning, January 15, South India was celebrating the annual harvest festival of Pongal; in keeping with the atmosphere, Viswanath and Yashpal continued from where they left off. Indeed, the runs came even faster, with Yashpal taking 18 runs off one Allot over. Finally, with the total on 466, shortly before lunch, Yashpal flicked Botham for Chris Tavare, running in from the square leg boundary, to hold the catch.

By that time, 612 playing minutes had passed since the previous wicket, Gavaskar, had fallen. Viswanath and Yashpal had registered India's best third-wicket partnership against all countries. Yashpal batted 490 minutes, hitting 18 fours and two sixes; Viswanath was out on the stroke of lunch, bowled by Willis for 222, the highest score by an Indian against England at the time. He batted 638 minutes and hit 31 fours.

Gavaskar declared at the fall of Viswanath's wicket with the total on 481 for four. The two became only the second Indian pair to bat through an uninterrupted day of Test cricket after Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj put up their 413-run world record partnership; that was also at Madras, but at the nearby Corporation stadium. Incidentally it was only the second time that England failed to take a wicket in a complete day's play.

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