Which two future stars made their one-day debut against England at Ahmedabad in 1981? (02 February 2002)

The 1981 one-dayer at Ahmedabad was, it seemed, a good match for debuts.For England, Geoffrey Cook and Clifton Richards player their first one-day international, while India fielded three rookies. One among them - Randhir Singh - would only play two matches for one wicket, but the other two went on not only to captain their country but to become established stars in their own right.

England won the toss, so one of the debutants got into the action right away. Opening the batting with Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth must have been understandably nervous, and he did consequently not have a great start to his career, making 0 off 10 balls. His illustrious partner, whom he was to accompany to the crease many more times, did no better, taking 13 balls for his own duck.

After Dilip Vengsarkar made 46 and Kirti Azad 30, some lusty hitting and running was needed towards the end of the innings. Syed Kirmani, making 18, found a willing partner in the other debutant, Ravi Shastri, who hit 19 off 28 before being run out.

India went on to lose the match by five wickets, Shastri's miserly 0-24 off 10 overs not stopping Mike Gatting from leading England to 160 in 43.5 overs. Srikkanth and Shastri may have not been able to spur India to a victory on this occasion, but their induction into the national team would see them notch up many wins for their country with both bat and ball.

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