England go down to Indian spin
Partab Ramchand - 26 November 2001
As had happened before, some of the leading English players declined to
come to India when the team toured the country in 1961-62. This time
around, Peter May, Colin Cowdrey, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Ray
Illingworth were missing, but the team that finally came over did have
many well-known personalities and crowd-pullers. After all, a side
including the likes of Ted Dexter (as captain), Mike Smith, Ken
Barrington, Peter Richardson, David Allen, Tony Lock, John Murray and
Geoff Pullar could not be scoffed at as a weak combination. Also in the
line-up were talented youngsters like Peter Parfitt and Barry Knight. So
the visitors were well served in the batting and spin departments, weak
only in pace bowling.
The final result of the five-match series, a 2-0 victory for India, can
thus be termed a surprise one. It was the first time that India had won
a rubber against England, and the historic triumph was certainly well-
deserved. There was something positive about the victory, even though it
was achieved against an England side not at full strength. The Indians
played enterprising cricket, and the batsmen and bowlers complemented
each other. The batsmen made runs at a good rate, and the bowlers
responded by taking wickets when conditions suited them.
India's victory was made possible mainly by great batting from Vijay
Manjrekar and the bowling of all-rounders Salim Durrani and Chandu
Borde. Manjrekar, then aged 30, was at the peak of his powers. His
classic batsmanship was in full bloom, and he ended the series with a
record aggregate of 586 runs at an average of 83.71. He surpassed the
long-standing Indian record of 560 runs, standing in the names of Rusi
Modi and Polly Umrigar. His knocks included a handsome 189 not out, the
highest score by an Indian batsman against England, at New Delhi, and he
also made scores of 68, 84, 96 and 85.
Durrani bowled India to victory in the last two Tests, capturing 18
wickets in a bag of 23 for the series. He also excelled with the bat,
notably with a bright 71 in the first Test at Bombay, when he and Borde
put on an Indian record partnership of 142 runs for the fifth wicket.
Borde took 16 wickets in the series, besides scoring 314 runs. His big
match was the Calcutta Test, where he top-scored in both innings with 68
and 61, and took four wickets in the first innings.
The batting, in fact, shone throughout the series. Umrigar made his
customary hundred, while ML Jaisimha confirmed his rising stature by
scoring 399 runs, with scores of 56, 51, 70 and 127 (his maiden Test
hundred). Also, the form displayed by youngsters Farokh Engineer, Dilip
Sardesai, MAK Pataudi and EAS Prasanna, all of whom were capped during
the series, augured well for the future. Engineer shone with both bat
and gloves, while Pataudi's 103, made in about two-and-a-half hours in
the final Test, was a capital knock. The only disappointment was Nari
Contractor, who found runs difficult to come by, although he finally
came good with 86 in the final Test at Madras. He did however, in his
second season as captain, lead the side capably.
The first three Tests were all high-scoring draws, although in the
second Test at Kanpur, India had the satisfaction of forcing England to
follow-on for the first time in 26 Tests. The third Test at New Delhi
was badly affected by rain, the last two days' play being washed out. In
the fourth and fifth Tests at Calcutta and Madras, however, on pitches
that gave spinners a chance, India were decidedly the superior team,
despite the presence of Lock and Allen in the England side. However well
the England duo bowled, Borde and Durrani did better, and the toss,
vital given the conditions, fell in favour of India both times.
The England side depended too much on Barrington, Dexter and Pullar for
the runs, and on Allen and Lock for the wickets; they did not
disappoint. Barrington scored 594 runs at an average of 99.00, with
three hundreds in successive Tests. It was significant that, when he
failed in the last two Tests, England lost. Dexter scored 409 runs, with
one hundred and three fifties, while Pullar, who played only in the
first three Tests, aggregated 327 runs in four innings. His absence
through injury was certainly felt by England in the last two Tests, who
were also handicapped by the bad form of Mike Smith. Veteran left-hander
Richardson did well enough, getting 304 runs, but the batsmen generally
floundered against the turning ball. Among the young brigade, Parfitt
and Knight showed signs of promise. In the bowling department, England
were well served by Allen and Lock, who took 21 and 22 wickets
respectively; but without support, they found the going tough. The pace
attack was virtually non- existent, to say the least.
The series also marked the swan-song of Subhash Gupte. The great leg-
spinner played in two of the Tests and was chiefly responsible for
making England follow on at Kanpur with a spell of four top-order
wickets for six runs off 18 balls. In fact, he took the first five
wickets to fall on his way to figures of five for 90 off 40 overs. But,
after playing in the next Test, he was dropped as a disciplinary
measure, which was never adequately explained, and subsequently left the
scene for good.
© CricInfo
Teams
|
India.
|
Players/Umpires
|
Ted Dexter,
Colin Cowdrey,
Fred Trueman,
Brian Statham,
Ray Illingworth,
Ken Barrington,
Peter Richardson,
David Allen,
John Murray,
Peter Parfitt,
Barry Knight.
|