Gavaskar's heroics and the Bridgetown draw
Partab Ramchand - 9 May 2002
Watching with dismay the Indians floundering against the pace and
bounce at the Kensington Oval the other day, my mind went back almost
simultaneously to two infinitely more glorious chapters of Indian
cricket in the West Indies - the Test at the same venue in 1971, the
only time in eight encounters that India have managed to avoid defeat
at Bridgetown, and Sunil Gavaskar's heroic exploits against the
Caribbean side.
Indeed, the comparative non-performance of the Indian sides in the
Caribbeans in the post-Gavaskar period has served to magnify the
greatness of his feats. Notwithstanding a rather mediocre series in
1983, Gavaskar still totaled 1,404 runs in 13 Tests on three tours of
the West Indies, with seven hundreds at an average of 70.20.
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Gavaskar's record against the West Indies is probably all too well-
known, but it is so awesome that it bears repeating over and over
again. In 27 Tests against the much-feared opponents for most of the
time that the stout-hearted and technically proficient Indian opener
played against the West Indies, they were the number one cricketing
nation in the world he hit 2749 runs with 13 centuries, three of
them double hundreds.
Playing without a helmet and much of the protective gear that
cricketers have resorted to in the last decade-and-a-half since his
retirement, Gavaskar tackled the pace of Andy Roberts, Michael
Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wayne Daniel, Joel Garner,
Sylvester Clarke and Norbert Philip with more than just a degree of
confidence, and this is borne out by the final record. No other
batsman has hit so many hundreds and double hundreds against the
brutal pace and disconcerting bounce that has always been a feature of
the West Indian bowling.
His detractors may point out that in two of the six rubbers Gavaskar
played, the West Indians were not exactly at full strength. Perhaps
there is a grain of truth to this argument. All the same, it must be
pointed out that in 1971, it was his first foray into international
cricket, while in 1978-79 he still had to negotiate bowlers of the
calibre of Clarke, Philip and Vanburn Holder. In each of these
contests, he ran up an aggregate of 700-plus, with a tally of eight
hundreds.
By that same yardstick, moreover, the Indians on the current tour -
and in 1997 - have come up against a West Indian side palpably in
decline, but the application, determination and concentration all
hallmarks of Gavaskar's batting - have been sadly lacking. Two
shocking batting collapses at Bridgetown, in 1997 and a few days ago,
only underlines this.
Indeed, the comparative non-performance of the Indian sides in the
Caribbeans in the post-Gavaskar period has served to magnify the
greatness of his feats. Notwithstanding a rather mediocre series in
1983, Gavaskar still totaled 1,404 runs in 13 Tests on three tours of
the West Indies, with seven hundreds at an average of 70.20. Four
centuries were notched up at Port of Spain, two were compiled at
Georgetown, and one at the Indians' least favourite venue, Bridgetown.
In the three post-Gavaskar tours of the West Indies, there have been a
total of six hundreds by five batsmen in 12 Tests. Gavaskar, in fact,
is one among only four Indian century-makers at the Kensington Oval.
Two of the four hundreds at the ground were in the same match, with
Sanjay Manjrekar getting 108 and Ravi Shastri scoring 107 in 1989. But
easily the best knock by an Indian at this ground was Dilip Sardesai's
150 in 1971. In terms of courage in adversity, it ranks very high.
Which brings me to the only time India have averted defeat at the
jinxed venue.
The West Indies, one down in the series, had led off with 501 for five
declared, and midway through the third day, India, at 70 for six, were
on the ropes. The momentum that the Indians had attained early on the
tour forcing the West Indians to follow on in the first Test at
Kingston and pulling off their historic victory in the next game at
Port of Spain had been lost, with Barbados defeating the visitors by
10 wickets on the eve of the fourth Test at Bridgetown. It only seemed
a matter of time before the home side leveled the series.
Then Sardesai took charge. With two hundreds in three Tests, he was
very much the man in form, and now with Eknath Solkar giving him
admirable support, the two figured in a 186-run seventh-wicket
partnership, one of the most famous rearguard actions in Indian
cricket. Solkar fell for 65, and shortly afterwards, India were 285
for nine. There were still 17 runs to go to avoid the follow-on, and
it was the post-lunch session of the fourth day. Bishan Singh Bedi,
however, summoned up the courage and skill to stay with Sardesai for
over an hour, and the two added 62 runs for the 10th wicket. Sardesai,
who had come in at 64 for four, was last out at 347 after batting just
over six hours.
The follow-on was saved, and even though the West Indies scored at a
brisk rate in the second innings before declaring at 180 for six, five
minutes after the start of play on the final day, there was little
doubt that India would save the match. This they did fairly
comfortably, and thanks to Gavaskar's unbeaten 117, finished at 221
for five. At the time, with the Indians emerging triumphant in the
rubber, the draw at Bridgetown, gallant as it was, was lightly
acknowledged as only one of four such results in the series. But given
the fact that India have lost all the seven other Tests at this venue
including five in a row now - perhaps the time has come to hail the
next drawn game at Bridgetown whenever it happens - as a moral
victory. And an Indian win? Well, that would be termed as nothing
short of a miracle.
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