Who led India to her first Test win on foreign soil?
(22 March 2002)
In the 70 years that India has appeared in Test matches, her
record in away Tests has been less than modest - just 16 wins in
164 Tests. The first of these rare wins was achieved, rather
appropriately, under the masterful leadership of a unique Indian
cricketer.
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Jr. was shaping as one of the finest
cricketers in the world when a car accident during his student
days at Oxford in 1961 left him with little vision in his right
eye. But, displaying the same fiery spirit that was to earn him
the sobriquet "Tiger" later on, the charismatic Pataudi made a
stirring comeback to top-flight cricket. Ironically enough, it
was an injury to Nari Contractor during India's tour of the West
Indies a year later that saw Pataudi take on the onerous
responsibility of being the Indian captain.
By 1968, when he led India to New Zealand, the discerning had
already begun to rate him as the finest captain the country had
ever seen. He had also made his mark as a cultured batsman with
an instinctive grasp of the game; one of his great
contemporaries, England's Ted Dexter, later called him a "batting
artist" with incomparable footwork, worthy of being mentioned in
the same breath as Denis Compton, Neil Harvey and Frank Worrell.
"Tiger" had also turned into one of the finest fielders in the
game; old-timers still rate him as the best India has produced.
The BW Sinclair-led home side, who were his opponents in that
series, did not have too many glittering names in their ranks.
Pataudi sensed his opportunity, proceeding to seize it in the
first Test played at Dunedin from 15-20 February 1968. Ajit Wadekar, later to succeed Pataudi as skipper, was the batting
anchor - his two fifties in the match proving invaluable - while
Erapalli Prasanna, one of the greatest off-spinners the game has
seen, and S Abid Ali turned in noteworthy bowling performances.
India romped home winners by five wickets. Pataudi did not score
too many runs, but his tactical and leadership skills contributed
significantly in gaining his team a famous first win on foreign
soil. India later went on to win the third and fourth Test too,
sealing a rare 3-1 win in a result-oriented series.
For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]
[Archive]
