Honours shared in exciting series
Partab Ramchand - 19 February 2001
Like in 1956, The Australians visited India in 1964 after their tour
of England to play three Tests and no other matches. However unlike
the 1956 side, Bobby Simpson's team arrived in India as favourites
on the basis that they had won the Ashes battle 1-0. But India too
had a good side which was in the process of being wielded together
by MAK Pataudi. The result was a highly exciting series at the end
of which honours were even. Australia won the first Test at Madras,
India drew level with a victory at Bombay while the rain affected
final Test at Calcutta ended in a draw.
There was much good cricket witnessed in the short series. The
accent of both teams was on the attack, there were some fine
individual performances and the closeness of the tussle was the
icing on the cake. There were no new discoveries but the established
players on both sides did really well. If the Australians were
better served in pace bowling, the Indians were superior in the
spin department. The batting of both sides was equally strong and
all things considered there was little doubt that the end result
was just, keeping in mind the equal strength of the two contestants.
Simpson proved to be a worthy successor to Richie Benaud. In
addition, he and Bill Lawry had proved themselves to be the best
opening pair since Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook and the series
cemented their reputation. With opening stands of 66, 91, 35, 59,
97 and 115, they always succeeded in laying the foundation for a
good total. The middle order, manned by Norman O'Neill (who played
only in the first Test), Bob Cowper, Ian Redpath, Brian Booth and
Peter Burge was pretty formidable and the late order almost always
produced some vital runs thanks to the presence of Barry Jarman,
Tom Veivers and John Martin. In Graham McKenzie, Neil Hawke and
Alan Connolly, Australia had a pretty useful new ball attack but
the spin department, handled by Veivers, Martin and Simpson proved
to be a trifle disappointing.
India's strength revolved around their batting and spin bowling
with the new ball attack holding no terrors for the visitors. All
the main batsmen - Jaisimha, Sardesai, Manjrekar, Borde, Pataudi
and Hanumant - were among the runs. In bowling, Nadkarni with 17
wickets in the first two Tests was head and shoulders above
everyone else though Chandrasekhar dealt telling blows at Bombay
and Durrani struck a purple patch at Calcutta. Thanks also to
the presence of Surti, Durrani and Nadkarni, the Indians showed
depth in the batting.
Pataudi had a great series. Not only did he match Simpson in
tactical skill, he also led from the front. He scored the only
century of the series - 128 not out at Madras, thus emulating his
father who had also scored a hundred in his first innings against
Australia in the Bodyline Series, 32 years before. With scores of
86 and 53, he played a significant role in the victory at Bombay.
This was one of the most thrilling Tests played in India. It was
a game full of fluctuating fortunes before India squeaked home by
two wickets late on the final evening. However it must be added
that the Australians were handicapped with O'Neill being unable
to bat. He was taken ill shortly after the match started.
The Australians had won the first Test, turning a 65-run first
innings deficit to a 139-run victory. McKenzie's ten wicket haul
and excellent batting by Lawry, Simpson, Burge, Martin and Veivers
saw the visitors turn the tables. A week later, however India had
drawn level. Among all the notable contributions to the victory,
the most memorable was perhaps the seventh wicket partnership of
93 runs on the final afternoon between Pataudi and Manjrekar. This
came about when India, facing a tough target of 254, were 122 for
six. Borde then applied the finishing touches before a delirious
Brabourne stadium crowd of about 42,000.
The Calcutta Test too was shaping into a keen contest. Australia,
61 runs behind on the first innings, were 143 for one at stumps on
the third day. But rain on the last two days ruled out any play.
Durrani's bowling (6 for 73) which brought about a sharp collapse
in the Australian first innings (97 for no loss to 174 all out) was
the chief highlight of the truncated game.
© CricInfo
Teams
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Australia,
India.
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Players/Umpires
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Mansur Pataudi,
Richie Benaud,
Bill Lawry,
Len Hutton,
Cyril Washbrook,
Norman O'Neill,
Ian Redpath,
Brian Booth,
Peter Burge,
Barry Jarman,
Tom Veivers,
Garth McKenzie,
Neil Hawke,
Alan Connolly,
Motganhalli Jaisimha,
Dilip Sardesai,
Vijay Manjrekar,
Hanumant Singh,
Bapu Nadkarni,
Bhagwat Chandrasekhar,
Rusi Surti.
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Tours
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Australia in India
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Internal Links
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Australia in India in the 1964-65 series.
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