A royal record at the Queen's Park Oval
Partab Ramchand - 27 April 2002
There was never any doubt that the Queen's Park Oval at Port of
Spain was India's favourite venue abroad. But it received
statistical confirmation on Tuesday when India notched up their
third victory at the stadium. Before that, the picturesque ground
shared the numerical honour with Melbourne and Auckland, where
Indian teams have scored two victories each.
Principally, Tuesday's victory loses out to the first victory from the historical angle. For sheer enormity of
achievement and rarity of feat, it cannot hold a candle to the
1976 triumph. The opposition too was fairly strong in 1971 and
much stronger five years later.
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Indian victories overseas are so rare that it is easy to get
excited about the latest triumph. After all, this was just the
17th win abroad in 166 matches, as compared to 54 victories in
187 home Tests. But then again, this was only India's third win
in 35 matches in the West Indies dating back to 1953;
interestingly enough, all three have been registered at the same
venue. Notable and welcome as the recent win is, for various
reasons it cannot be compared to those notched up in 1971 and
1976.
What makes a victory special? One presumes there are many factors
that have to be considered before terming a triumph as truly
great or significant. The opposition is one, alien wickets and
weather conditions are others. Then comes the odds against which
the victory is achieved. One must also not lose sight of the
historic aspect too. If it is the kind of victory that is only
rarely achieved in Test cricket, then this becomes a very
important factor in analysing its greatness.
Principally, Tuesday's victory loses out to the first victory
from the historical angle. For sheer enormity of achievement and
rarity of feat, it cannot hold a candle to the 1976 triumph. The
opposition too was fairly strong in 1971 and much stronger five
years later.
However spasmodic Indian victories abroad are these days, the
fact remains that India have, over the past 34 years, registered
wins in New Zealand, West Indies, England, Australia, Sri Lanka,
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Pakistan and South Africa are the only
nations in which India have drawn a blank even after playing 20
and nine Tests respectively. India have also notched up series
triumphs in New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and England
(twice).
But in March 1971, the scenario was very different. By then India
had played 47 Tests abroad and had won only three all against
New Zealand in 1967-68, a series the visitors won by three
matches to one. Such was New Zealand's weakness at that time,
however, that the analysts questioned that one loss more than the
three victories! In 11 Tests in the West Indies, India had lost
six and drawn five. In nine Tests in Australia, India had lost
eight and drawn one. In 19 Tests in England, India had lost 15
and drawn four. The one series in Pakistan in 1954-55 had seen
all five Tests ending in draws.
The victory at the Queen's Park Oval on March 10 1971 must
therefore be viewed against this backdrop. Admittedly the West
Indies were then in the rebuilding process. The retirement of
several stalwarts had weakened the side, but Garry Sobers, Rohan
Kanhai and Clive Lloyd were still around.
Unlike the present series, when India have generally been seen as
favourites, the visitors were clearly the underdogs when the 1971
series started. Coincidentally, that too was the second Test of
the series, the first ending in a rain-affected draw. The Indian
new-ball attack was, at the time, just about the biggest joke in
cricketing circles worldwide. And yet the much-maligned opening
bowlers took minimum time to strike. Abid Ali bowled Roy
Fredericks with the first ball of the match, and from that moment
on, the West Indies, already reeling under the shock registered
when India enforced the follow-on for the first time in 24 Tests
between the two countries at Kingston, were on the back foot.
Dismissing the home team for 214 on the opening day, India took a
stranglehold by replying with 352, thanks in the main to Dilip
Sardesai's 112 and valuable contributions from debutant Sunil
Gavaskar (65), Ashok Mankad (44) and Eknath Solkar (55). In the
second innings, the Indian attack was not even at full strength,
with Erapalli Prasanna being injured. But Srinivas
Venkataraghavan rose to the occasion with a five-wicket haul, and
with that wayward genius Salim Durrani chipping in with the
wickets of Lloyd and Sobers in successive overs, West Indies
collapsed from 150 for one to 261, leaving India the simple task
of getting 124 for victory.
This was duly achieved, for the loss of three wickets on the
evening of the fourth day, and Gavaskar capped a memorable debut
by hitting the winning boundary in an unbeaten 67. India, thus,
won a Test in the 25th encounter between the two countries.
Five years later, the scenario was very different. For one thing,
the Indians, having registered rubber triumphs in the West Indies
and England in 1971, were no strangers to victories abroad.
Secondly, the Indian team of the 70s was made of sterner stuff
than their predecessors of the 50s and 60s.
Against this, the West Indies had completed their rebuilding
process and had built a formidable side comprising powerful
stroke-makers and a fearsome pace quartet. The visitors came to
Port of Spain for the third Test of the series one down and,
midway through the fourth day, the series had virtually been
lost. After the West Indies had dominated all through, Lloyd
declared, setting India a target of 403 in about nine hours.
It was a preposterous target. In nearly 800 Tests, only one team
- Don Bradman's all-conquering Australian side against England at
Leeds in 1948 - had scored over 400 runs to win a match. And yet,
planning their strategy "with the perfection of a cricketing
Lester Piggott," as Tony Cozier wrote at the time, India pulled
off one of Test cricket's most remarkable victories, reaching
their seemingly insurmountable target with seven of the 20
mandatory overs to spare. Their total of 406 for four remains,
even today, over 800 Test matches later, the highest in the
fourth innings to win a Test match.
Gavaskar and Anshuman Gaekwad, then being tried out as a
makeshift opening batsman, put on 69 runs, and this was followed
by a second-wicket partnership of 108 runs between Gavaskar and
Mohinder Amarnath, a makeshift number three.
After Gavaskar was out for 102, Amarnath and Gundappa Viswanath
inched India closer to the target with a third-wicket stand of
159 runs before the latter was out for 112. Amarnath, who played
the sheet-anchor role to perfection, was fourth out at 392,
batting 442 minutes for 85. Brijesh Patel brought the match to a
swift and stunning conclusion with a series of enthralling
strokes and finished on 49 not out. Interestingly, four players -
Gavaskar, Solkar, Venkatraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi - had also
been members of the victorious 1971 team.
As I said, notable as Tuesday's victory was, for reasons already
explained it cannot be compared to the two earlier wins at Indian
cricket's favourite venue abroad. However, I would like to end on
an encouraging, even intriguing note. In 1971, the Indian victory
came about in the second Test of the series, and the visitors
went on to take the series. Can we expect an encore from
Ganguly's men?
© CricInfo
Teams
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India,
West Indies.
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Players/Umpires
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Gary Sobers,
Rohan Kanhai,
Clive Lloyd,
Abid Ali,
Sunny Gavaskar,
Atul Mankad,
Ashok Mankad,
Eknath Solkar,
Erapalli Prasanna,
Anshuman Gaekwad,
Gundappa Viswanath,
Bishan Bedi,
Sourav Ganguly.
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Tours
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India in West Indies
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